


Lost Hope

by Balabim



Series: The tales of the ocean [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Homestuck - Freeform, Meenah and Cronus hate each other, Multi, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Rating May Change, Troll Anatomy, Troll Culture, troll everything, urgh so many pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2018-06-01 13:33:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 68,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6521791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Balabim/pseuds/Balabim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a land-dweller stuck at sea is no easy feat. Especially not when the captain is crazy and the ancestor of your high blood friend. Your name is Sollux Captor and you're still unsure as how you got yourself stuck in this position as first mate in the first place...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sollux: Wake up

**Author's Note:**

> I swear to god what have I started... Whatever, it's out there, enjoy the first chapter, it's tame... Please let me know if I should continue or not because I'm unsure... This will be the ONLY CHAPTER THAT ASKS FOR IT!!! Also sorry that the chapter is kinda short :/

Yet another already restless night had me wake up to the sound of Meenah shouting her head off. By the side to side movements of the boat I could tell we had hit another storm head on. With a groan, I found myself sitting up, grasping my head slightly to make a minor impact to prevent too much seasickness, however I found that my assistance being needed faster that I had hoped when Meenah began screaming for me.

Quickly ascending the stairs, I found myself on the deck which had a minor amount of flooding on it. It was pelting it down with rain and small bits of hail which made the ocean about as restless as a dog whose master has been away for a prolonged period of time. Meenah – my captain – and other members of the crew were doing what they could to solve the problem at hand, preferably before we went under the water. I ran to Meenah quickly, prepared for instructions.

“Sollux, there you glubbin’ are. We need to get this sorted out NOW or it is literally the end of the road buoy.” She said across the winds, shouting to get her words across to me.

“What do you need me to do captain?” I shouted back, full confidence in my speech, the chill in the air about to give a chatter to my teeth, I could feel it coming.

“Anyfin, I’m sick of this motherglubbin’ water on this motherglubbin’ boat!” She screamed at me. I nod to her in a very weak attempt to get her to calm down (not that that’s what I care about in this situation but whatever). I join the other members of the crew in their attempts to get the water off the boat. I remember very little about how I ended up there but somehow I find myself flushing slightly with a bucket in hand, attempting to get the water out of the ship next to one of the few people I would class as my friend on this thing, Tavros Nitram. The boy was lower than me in the hemospectrum but was very observamt and definitely a good choice for the crew.

“Hello Sollux!” I hear him shout through the horrific weather at me. I glance over to see his shimmering brown eyes, a sort of comfort in this horrific condition.

“Hey TV” I yell back. I don’t call him that often, very little actually, but not is the time for shortened conversation if you asked me when the teeth chattering suddenly comes in. It’s minor, like everything else tonight but it’s still pretty gog damn annoying.

“How… uh… How are you?” He calls again. I’ve learned over the years that we’ve been together on this awful boat that this is how Tavros likes to deal with his nerves, calm and regular conversation so he doesn’t feel like he might be at the final moment of his life (let’s be honest no one wants to feel like that).

“I-I’m good! What about you?” I shout back, shaking now, the wind getting through the shirt I had been wearing to bed (it’s lucky I wasn’t wearing an oversized shirt to bed like I normally do) along with my baggy black trousers. Tavros seems relaxed, at least, more relaxed than he would be if we weren’t talking.

“Yeah, I’m pretty good… uh… too” he said shyly. To be perfectly honest, it’s kind of adorable how someone can spend so long out here and still be so fucking innocent but at the moment he’s first and foremost my best friend (and he always will be seen as a friend to me, I don’t like him ‘like that’).

“That’s good!” I yell out to him, “You sure you’re okay?!”

“Pretty nervous but, uh, I’m fine” Tavros yelled back. The sixty-eight foot waves (whether or not that was their actual height I have no idea on if that’s accurate or not but I’m guessing here) crashed down onto the ship. Me and Tavros were in the direct hit of the nest one and I found myself under water, struggling against the elements to break for air. In that moment, I felt part of my sanity slip and a memory flashed in front of my eyes… My eyes… Mirrored back at me… Grab him! The ordeal lasted about three seconds but it seemed to last forever and it was more than enough to break both me and Tavros who let out a scream when we hit the air again and we found ourselves, instead of being at the side of the deck, were laying right in the middle of the boat, “Oh… my jegus…” He shouted teary-eyed. The chill of the air infected with water molecules brought more shivers to my already quivering body along with the bodies of the rest of the crew. I managed to bring myself to my feet with quite a bit of struggle actually and grabbed the hand of Tavros, who was still struggling (big horns do not help with your balance at sea that’s for sure in his case…)

“CREW!” Our attention turned to Captain Meenah, “We’re going to attempt to pull something dangerous! We’re going to wait the storm out and hope the ship can last! Get the sails down and take cover!” Sails were not the duty of me or Tavros so I gripped his hand a little tighter and ran us to my chambers where I slammed the door shut behind us. I turned back around to Tavros who stood staring at me, shaking slightly. His body was soaked to the core, as was mine. I walked over to Tavros and helped him pull off his shirt which felt like picking up a soggy piece of paper, looking at the fright in Tavros’s face. Once we got it off I gave him one of my over-sized shirts, making sure it was a fully button up so that his horns didn’t bother him.

“I-I’ll turn around so you can take your trousers off…” I lisped quietly. This was the second time I had stuttered tonight… Am I trying to make a fool out of myself?! Tavros gave me a small shy smile before I turned my back to him and took off my own shirt. My quarters were quite cozy but they were big enough for two people to live in at the same time, even if it was only me who stayed in them… I was often visited, by the captain, her dancestor, as well as Tavros. I pulled one of the over-sized shirts over my head. This one wasn’t a full button up and instead only near the neck was tied up and it was tied with thin leather rope. I wore underwear but I didn’t bother with trousers. As I sorted my shirt so I was confortable around my neck, my finger accidentally brushed the cold metal that was strung around my neck. I had come so accustomed to it being there I hadn’t even noticed it’s weight all day… I simply stood there, thinking, touching the chain around my neck.

“Sollux?” I snapped back to reality at the sound of Tavros’s voice and I jump slightly. “Are you… uh… okay?” I turn around to face him. He stood looking at me, his face a perfect look of pure concern.

“Yeah…” I said quietly, “Just thinking I guess…” He nodded in understanding when suddenly another strong wave hit the ship above us with a loud bang and Tavros let out a yelp, scaring himself with his own yell and landing on his bum on the bed. I quickly make my way over to him, putting my arms securely around him, which he quickly returned the favour of, burying his face into my chest. The boy was shaking like a leaf. That’s when we heard a knock on the door.

“Come in” I said, quietly, cautiously even. The door pushed in as Tavros buried his face in to my chest. The face of a girl I was always happy to see stood there, the captain’s dancestor Feferi.

“Hey guys” She said worriedly, “I heard Tavros’s scream and came running. Is everything okay?” She asked, pullin a stool that I kept by my desk over to sit down beside us.

“I think… that… uh… I am okay Feferi… Just a little caught off guard… by the… uh… ocean” Tavros mumbled into my chest quietly, I could practically feel the embarrassment seeping off him. I gave him a little squeeze, the poor boy didn’t belong here. He was the most land-dwelling troll I knew and yet, because of the multiple issues on land right now, money-wise and not money-wise, both him and his ancestor both turned to piracy, almost exactly the same as me. Tavros is like me and Feferi’s son, we’d do absolutely anything to keep him safe, we want to make sure he does what he wants to do with his life rather than what others want him to do. Currently he works on the ship as a birds-eye, regularly on night-shift since he suffers from a form of insomnia called “Idiopathic insomnia”. From what I know, it’s a life-long disorder that cannot be explained in full detail. I remember Tavros once told me he’s been like that as far back as he can remember.

“Oh Tav…” Feferi said caringly, “It’ll clear up by tomorrow, promise”

“Yeah…” I chip in with a smile, “Don’t you worry, Everything is going to be okay”  
Luckily enough, thanks to over month of not a drop of sleep, we managed to get Tavros resting on his back in my bed.

“Are you going to be okay?” Feferi asked me.

“Me? Of course” I respond.

“You might not be able to sleep there though…” Feferi said quietly, looking directly at Tavros.

“FF…” She looked a me directly when I used the nickname, “I can’t sleep when the waves are like this anyway” I reminded her softly. Her eyes seemed to dully glaze over and I knew she (the same as me) was going over that night in her head again, after all she was one of the few people there when it happened.

“For a second there I forgot about that… Sorry Sollux,” She said, even quieter than she had spoken before.

“That’s okay Feferi,” oncec again, my hand found it’s own way to the chain around my neck, “I’ll probably be the only one who remembers full time”

“Hey” I brought my full attention back to her and looked her directly in the eye, “give me ring if you need to vent” She smiled sadly, “Please excuse me” and with that, she left. I glanced out the small window that I had, pulling the necklace out of my shirt. A glistening red I sat at the end of the chain, around the size of half of my palm. The matching blue one rested somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, around another land-dwellers neck. I stared out, the sound of the waves reminding me so much of that day…

“I… I’m so sorry… Mituna…”


	2. Eridan: Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up is no easy feat to most teenagers and being in an area of comfort makes it even harder. Eridan Ampora is still unsure as to whether or not he even wants to be on the Aquarian, yet here he is. That's how it's always been...

The fragrance of salt, a moist feeling to my face, warmth surrounding me. Slowly, I recall, opening my eyes to the day. A soft groan escaping me as light flooded into my vision and made me cringe. I fought myself to attempt to open my eyes however I did not succeed in my attempts. I ended up shutting my eyes even tighter and attempting to shut off the world for another ten minutes or so. It wasn’t like the crew needed me or anything anyway, they had the captain for the crap they needed. It was when I heard a knock on my door that my eyes, though I will admit it was painful, followed my will and allowed me to open them.

“Come in?” I said, questioning myself as to whether or not I should allow them entrance. I was okay that I did when the person knocking revealed themselves as the captains right hand chick Terezi, “Oh, hey Terezi” I said with a happy sigh of relief it was no complete weirdo.

“Captain says you’re needed in his office… By the smell of pheromone sweat in here I’ll bet you’re still in bed” Terezi said calmly. Blind chick. As to how she got so far up in the Captain’s books I will never fuckin’ know. Probably sexual deeds. I shuddered at the thought. That was too far, even for me.

“Alright. Let him know-w I’ll be there in a moment” I sighed, stretching myself before running my hair back and tying it down with a purple bandanna that I had claimed in a heist that turned into a battle. Personally that’s my favourite part of piracy, heists that turn into mid-ocean battles. They are so much fun.

“Must be something pretty serious seeing as it’s you and Makara he’s called up” Terezi muttered from the door and I paused in my action of buttoning up my white shirt.

“W-which one?” I asked. I was pretty anxious about this next answer because, either or, it would change the course of my day.

“Gamzee” Terezi spat with a slight shudder while I relaxed considerably. Gamzee, unlike his ancestor Kurloz, was someone I could handle (even if he was a little strange at points…).

“Hmm… At least it’s not Kur…” I commented as I pulled my trousers around my waist and tied them up correctly with a piece of leather.

“Don’t even curse my ears with that boy’s name” Terezi said with a scoff. I glanced over at her. The dark haired girl had her locks tied up with rope in a pony tail to keep the amount of it out of her face. She had a short skirt on and a blouse which was teal and seemed to have one that colour from staining from chlorine. It was odd, I had never seen a shirt go that colour after it had been stained. Her eyes were covered with a red stained cloth (dare I suggest that it might be blood?!). I guess it’s because she doesn’t want people to see the fact her eyes are pure red but she can’t see out of them, (If she could see those who use Psiionics… My god she’d be so jealous).

“Okay then… I’ll stop… For now-w” I smirked. She laughed lightly.

“Alright, I’m out of here Ampora… Take care of yourself! For the glory, whatever” came her half assed attempt of our ship’s statement. I wasn’t even going to grace that statement with my voice using it unless it was in front of my ancestor.

“Will do Ter!” I shout after her as she walks away as if she had her eyesight and could see exactly where she was going. I felt a wash of pity brush over me though I tried to keep it down. She has said plently of times she does not wat pity but… I can’t help it. With that, I checked myself over in the makeshift mirror once again to make sure I was on point. I blinked at my own reflection and breathed a sigh with some form of sorrow in it. What the hell am I doing here? I shook my head and smiled at myself with a breathy laugh. I slipped from my cabin and began walking down the corridor, feeling the ship tip a little but my walking was unaffected unlike a lot of people on this ship who I have seen fall over when the ship tips even the smallest bit and by the shout it seemed yet another had fallen by the scream. Jegus… I moved swiftly and silently towards the Captain’s quarters where the door was slightly ajar however no noise came out of the cabin meaning Cronus and Gamzee were sitting in awkward silence. Great. I gave a swift and sharp knock to the door and I heard a sigh of relief inside.

“Come in” I heard the rough voice of my brother from inside. No doubt he didn’t get much sleep last night, he hadn’t in a while, it was no surprise to me anymore. I slipped into the room. Gamzee looked at me from one of two chairs placed in front of my brother’s desk, his usually untamed hair in it’s natural state, his face painted, a necessity it seemed, for him. His eyes were what creeped me out slightly about him though, to some, I bet that they were really unique and attractive, with their strange tinge of royal purple to them. His trousers were patched with grey fabrics and his shirt wasn’t tied off at the top showing his chest slightly. As for my ancestor, who was sat on the other side of the table, his hair was styled similarly to mine but sat back naturally rather than with the help of a bandanna and was a little weird. He had two scars on his forehead which had a swollen bump underneath it proving it was pretty recent but had healed. I could almost immediately recall him getting it one and a half weeks ago. His eyes were glistening so I was a little confused as to what had been going on previously. I sat down on the other chair that was available for me.

“Alright… W-why am I here?” I stuttered, scratching my forehead slightly.

“Glad you asked Er, I’ve been askin’ since I got here and he ain’t givin’ me any answers till ya motherfuckin got here” Gamzee stated. The Makara’s and my ancestor seemed to hate each other and yet the Makara’s were allowed to stay. Mind, it was probably because they were incredibly useful when it came to doing bits of anything and everything and were better than useful, downright amazing, when it came to raids.

“V-Well” God his accent sometimes got on my nerves… It was worse than my freakin’ stutter, “To answ-ver that question Gamzee, I’v-we got a job for ya”

“Alright, w-what’s the job?” I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest and staring him in the eye just to see him smirk at me.

“V-Well Eri, to put it simply, v-we are pulling into shore in exactly one day and one night’s time… And, strangely enough” Cronus stood up and gestured with his hand for us to follow. As me and Gamzee stood up Gamzee’s chair fell over behind him and I heard a hiss come form Cronus meaning he was displeased about that. We both stood next to him and, only now did I notice the multiple different paths that lay across the map on one wall of his cabin. One black, one pink, one grey and one purple. What…? “I haw-ve discow-vered that… One of my enemies pulls in on the same day...” Cronus narrowed his eyes. For someone who usually speaks like a total greaser he’s making a lot of sense right now ever if I still cannot understand the point in all this.

“Right… what’s this got to do with us Cro bro?” Gamzee asked. Cronus traced a finger over the pink line.

“THIS! Is v-what it has to do v-with you Makara…” Cronus growled out, stabbing violently at the pink line. As I looked at his eyes in that moment I saw nothing but deep hatred.

"O-kaaaay…” I drag out, “W-who exactly does it represent?”

“Meenah Pexies” I felt my eyes widen. The PEXIES?! What the actual GOG?!

“The mother fuckin’ Pexies? Bro, you feelin’ alright?” Gamzee asked. Meenah Pexies, 19 years old and one of the most rough troll Captains to sail the oceans, holding a crew of equal mass to ours though it was supposedly holding lots of secret members that held lots of special ability. I was certain that they were Cronus’s biggest enemy… As to how I get that feelin’ I’ll never know.

“I… Still don’t get w-what this has to do w-with us” I told him honestly, tucking one of my strands of hair out of my face.

“Eridan… I’m getting’ to that bit so, please, just shut it” Cronus spoke bluntly, speaking of Meenah obviously letting a hatred spark out in him because he did not normally speak to me as if I was one of the mutant bloods we still had on board (don’t question ME as to why the hell they’re on board it was Cro’s bloody idea).

“Right…” I whispered as I felt Gamzee look at me. I don’t know if Makara’s can even feel so if he felt any sympathy towards me at all in that moment I was… Not getting it.

“Meenah Pexies has a habit of stealing from her enemies’ ships while they are away from them and has a team of people who are among the best pirates in the world. Your job, once we have pulled in, is to keep an eye on the boat and take shifts to keep them off. Got it?” Cronus explained, simple and short.

“So, our job is basically stop any of that scum that tries to get on the mother fuckin’ ship?” Gamzee asked, his arms folded across his chest. He seemed to be in thought… I didn’t know he could do that.

“Exactly Makara, exactly” Cronus stated with a nod.

“That it?” I asked, looking my ancestor in the eye, my arms crossed just like Gamzee’s.

“That’s it” Cronus smirked, hands on his brown trousers, thumbs looped into the leather strip that held them up, the golden chain around his neck glistening.

“Got it Cap’n” Gamzee said with a nod and I shrugged but nodded as well. I was, to be quite fair, looking forward to finally getting some time off of this god-for-saken ship however if it was to keep it in tip top condition… I could sacrifice some time.

“W-Very v-well. I v-wish you luck” Cronus nodded, “For the glory of the Aquarian”

“For the glory of the Aquarian” Me and Gamzee nodded in a mock simple word salute that had been made up for our ship since the beginning. I struggled it out, unlike Gamzee, as to why I am still unsure… With that we turned on our heels and walked out.

“So… Eri, bro, you wanna take three in the mornin’ till three in the afternoon?” Gamzee asked me. I glanced over at him to see him completely straight faced and serious as we stood out in the hall outside the Captain’s quarters, “Makara’s work better in the latest mother fuckin’ hours of a day after all” I nodded at my fellow highblood’s words.

“Yes… Yes I think I could w-work w-with that” I stuttered out, “I look forw-ward to w-working w-with you Makara”

“You mother fuckin’ too Ampora. For the glory of the Capricorious” he winked and I found myself laughing. It was an ongoing joke that people who actually said it would change the ship’s name to their own star sign and it seemed Gamzee Makara had just sprung one on me.

“Yes” I laughed out, “For the glory of the Aquarian”. With that we both headed out where I found everyone whispering and talking. Since Cronus usually didn’t come out of his cabin and Terezi rarely did her job, this was my moment to take charge.

“ALRIGHT!” All eyes were on me once I shouted out, “W-WE’WE GOT ONE DAY!” I yell out, “ONCE THAT DAY IS OUT, W-WE ARRIWE AT THE SHORE! BUT, THAT DAY IS NOT TODAY! ONE LAST DAY OF W-WORK. THEN! W-WE’RE OUT OF HERE!” I yell to cheers from the crew, “LET’S GET TO WORK! FOR THE GLORY OF THE AQUARIAN!”

“FOR THE GLORY OF THE AQUARIAN!” Was the conjoined yell I received in return and though I was fearful and regretting accepting the job my brother had given me, I felt relaxed. Bring it on Captain Meenah Pexies…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support! <3


	3. Sollux: Help unload the Piscion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suffering from minor sea sickness is one thing but when you wake up with a splitting pain in your head and one of your friends standing above you it leads to some questions. You're back to being Sollux Captor and You've decided to take a quick trip around a few of your ship's crew members as you get the crates of loot off the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the support so far! I'm extremely happy that you're enjoying this so far! Please enjoy this chapter as well! <3

The weather had fully settled by the time morning came and, I was awoken to Tavros’s face over mine, a look of worry on his face which relaxed when I let out a groan and tried to sit up but found myself struggling.

“Urgh… What- What happened?” I asked, looking up and into Tavros’s slightly brown tinged eyes. Has he been… Crying? Poor guy, I probably worried the life out of him, he’s so sensitive, I’ve got no idea what he’s doing here…

“You fell asleep once the ocean calmed down and then fell off your little porch thing. Are you alright?” Tavros asked, putting a hand to my head. I felt a bit of pain shoot through my head and let out a shout from my gut, grabbing on to Tavros’s other hand. The door opened and I noticed Tavros glance to it and smiled sadly at the person entering.

“Hey Sollux, you big dunce” I blinked and looked over at Feferi who was stood in the door with her arms crossed with a grin. She walked over to the two of us and took a small towel from a pocket in her outfit and pressed it to my head slightly, “I think you burst something” She laughed lightly.

“Where are we?” I asked her, looking to her with my eyes narrowed, trying to keep the streaming light out of my eyes to stop my throbbing head when I felt something press to my lips and my eyes shoot open to see a glass of pure water there. I open my lips slightly and let it slide down my throat. I’m not one to really enjoy the taste of water all that much however I’ve heard it’s pretty good for blood so that would be useful just now that’s for sure.

“Not too far from the shore at all, we’ll be there within half an hour and unloading” I nodded, feeling my senses coming back.

“Thanks Tav” I smiled at him and he smiled sadly back, offering me a hand to stand up. Once I got to my feet I looked behind to see my weird yellow blood staining the wood of my floor slightly, “Well it’s gonna be hard to get that out…” I sighed, “Thanks for comin’ FF” I let out, running a hand through my hair and slightly brushing my own horns on the way past making me shut my eyes before taking my hand away.

“No problem silly!” Feferi laughed and Tavros nodded with a small smile on his face though he still looked like he was really worried about something, what that something is I have no idea.

“Alright, let’s get a move on” I sigh out, beginning to walk over to the door of my cabin.

“Hey… uh… Sollux?” I turn back around to Tavros who was just about to follow me.

“Yeah?” I asked him, crossing my arms, but not angrily, rather in a more sassy kind of manner.

“Are you sure you’re, uh, going to be alright?” He asked me, timidly, tilting his head a small tad.

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be alright” I sighed happily, “Just keep an eye on yourself for me will ya Tav?”

“Sure! I can do that!” Tavros smiled in return as I left the cabin, making my way out on to the deck where only a few members of crew were working on getting the remainder of the water out, though there wasn’t much left. One of those members was a young blonde human girl with paling skin, billowing short skirts stained pinkish purple and black from her time at sea (being held up by a black thick leather strap which had some kind of metal flask attached to it. I daren’t ask what’s in it), a plain, white, sleeveless shirt now stained slightly brown, revealing a tattoo of a black cat symbol that was on her arm. In that moment she quickly whisked little hairs of platinum-white blonde out of her vision as she kept dumping buckets of water outside of the ship. I approached the young lady with a bucket of my own, something I found a little awkward however it was our only option in getting all of the water off of the ship. When I was next to her, she flicked round to look at me, eyes blown wide in surprise, fist immediately raised in an act of self-defense. I held my hands up in front of my face, my psionics buzzing across my skin like mini fireworks.

“Easy tigress” I whisper to the female who immediately relaxes.

“Jeez Sol Ya scared the bejegus outta me!” She laughed aloud. Her speech was traditional and something I had grown accustomed to in the time knowing her. She slipped the flask from off her belt and brought it to her lips, her initials (R.L) carved carefully into the back of the flask. I forgot to mention, this is Roxy Lalonde, the ships Quartermaster. For those who don’t know what the hell a quartermaster does, a quartermaster deals with punishments and discipline, including punishing the captain if she steps out of line. The quartermaster represents the other pirates, taking their issues to the attention of the captain. They would also be the one to take control of any vessels won in battle, becoming their own captain.

“Sorry about that Roxy, I didn’t mean to scare you” I smiled, filling a bucket with water as I threw it over the edge. I glanced over at her as she took a long sip from her hip flask. She pulled off of it with a sigh.

“Life is blisd Sollux” She sighed out, a random slur in the middle. I winced slightly at the slur. I’m often concerned about Roxy however if this is the way she decides to live her life then I’m not one to judge… Most of the time.

“It sure is Madame Lalonde, it sure is” I said, my lisp bugging the life out of me.

“SOLLUX!” I suddenly turn towards the shout to look up to Tavros in the crow’s nest, “WE’RE NOT FAR OFF SHORE! CAN YOU GO AND INFORM THE CAPTAIN?! SHE’S CURRENTLY IN A MEETING WITH FEFERI!”

“GOTCHA BUDDY!” I shout back up, slipping away from Roxy, my knees soaked from kneeling in the water. I slip down past my cabin once more on the way towards the captain’s quarters which a reached quickly, giving the door a brisk knock with my fist.

“COME IN!” I push the door open and see the captain’s quarters. The first thing I notice is Feferi’s stance which basically means I interrupted another ancestor to dancestor argument, “Ah, Captor, how’s the heed doin bouy?” She asked, sitting back down as Feferi seemed to relax as well at seeing me.

“Alright yeah, should be healed within the next hour or so” I smirk slightly, “Actually Tavvy was just letting me know to let you know that shore isn’t that far away, we’ll be at it quicker than we thought” The reaction I received was snot the one I expected as Meenah’s face became dark. My face became a scowl looking at her.

“Well that’s just glubbin’ brilliant” She growled out, running her hand quickly and roughly through her hair, grasping at it firmly.

“What is?” Feferi asked, sitting back down in her seat from her standing position as I stood behind her, a look of worry now covering not only her face but mine as well.   
“We’re comin’ into shore the same glubbin’ time as the bloody Aquarian that’s WHAT!” Meenah shouted at us suddenly. I found myself being shocked at this.

“The- The Aquarian?! Aren’t those guys a bunch of ruffians?!” Feferi asked nervously, squeezing her legs together, her hands rubbing together nervously in her lap. I hadn’t heard much about the Aquarian but tales of rough act in bars and things when they arrived back from raids.

“Somefin like that, yeah” Meenah snarled, not looking pleased at all, “I wasn’t expecting to be back for another-“

“SHIP!” Tavros’s voice was clear as day through the air.

“GLUBBIN DAMMIT!” Meenah stood straight to her feet and stormed from the office as I made worried eye contact with Feferi before dashing off after our captain to find her climbing up the rope to the crow’s nest, looking out the directon Tavros was pointing in. She seemed very pissed off but, sure enough, somewhere along the horizon a ship was heading for shore, “PULL INTO SHORE!” Meenah jumped from the deck onto one knee and the opposing hand, standing up from the position almost immediately, “ALL HANDS ON GETTIN’ THE LOOT ONTO LAND! I DON’T WANT ANY FAFFIN’ AROUND!” And just like that everyone sprung into action, me pulling people up from under the deck and asking them up to help pull the ship into land. It was in that moment I spotted the guy who’d be bringing the ship into shore with me, manning the ropes. I jumped from the ship with him, reaching the port. The black haired boy held tightly onto the ropes as I controlled my psionics on the front of the ship to stop it from moving, his glasses glinting in the sunlight, his green shirt billowing behind him as he gritted his teeth in concentration when the ship came to a full stop and someone threw down the anchor as me and the boy started tying the ship to the ports posts when the ramp was thrown down by us, and the pale, ebony haired boy was almost hit by it. He swished his hair from his vision as others came down with the loot and began removing it crate by crate.

“Morning old chap!” He smiled at me, pearly white teeth grinning at me, how he kept them that white I am still clueless.

“Hey Jake” I smirked. Why do I keep forgetting to introduce people in my life?! This is Jake English, our carpenter aboard ship. You’d think his job would be a good one; creative, hands on, skilled and relatively safe. However, in most cases it would be Jake English who had the harsh task of surgeon on a pirate ship when it came to amputations. His skills with a saw would come in handy after battles.

“How’s the head?” God how many people know about the fact I cracked my head open on wood? Whatever…

“Alright I suppose, I’m not bleeding anymore which is pretty good” I confirm to him as we watch the humans and trolls of the Piscion unload the ship.

“Well that’s better than nothing” He smiled, “I wish you luck getting better Sollux sir!” He said with a small and courteous bow before going and helping Roxy with a crate as a strange queue of people of formed. I watched with my arms crossed when suddenly I got jumped from the side, a small gasp escaping from me. I looked over to my side to see a mop of black hair and curled horns, so I returned the hug.

“Hello Aradia” I laughed aloud, letting go of her as she stepped back from me, a hand on her hip. I think she just so happens to be the only person aboard the ship that wears a black shirt but it’s kind of turned into her thing so no one would mess with that fact. Her hair curled naturally on her shoulders and her ear piercings were massive gold earrings.

“Hey Sollux, can you help me with one of these boxes?” She asked me kindly. I smirked slightly at her, shaking my head calmly.

“Yeah sure” I said, completely contradicting my moments as I followed after her onto the ship once again to help her out with one of the boxes being put on deck. With the help of her and Feferi we managed to get the crate down to the port where Roxy and Jake took it from there. It was in that moment when I heard a yell of a voice.

“GET DOWN AND PARK THE SHIP!”

“Oh no…” Feferi whispered.

“Oh no? Why? What is it?” Aradia asked.

“That’s the Aquarian”


	4. Eridan: Help unload the ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being given news you don't want to hear mere moments before your arrival with a fate involving it is never something you want to encounter. But you can't worry about that right now. You're Eridan Ampora after all, and currently, your main worry is getting the Aquarian to the port and keeping your ancestor's crew happy (something Cronus seems pretty bad at doing)

The wind was blustering through the skies that morning as I stood up on the deck, a small smile upon my face as I watched the members of the crew go about their daily business.

“LAND HO!” Already? I looked up to the crows nest, unable to identify the bird’s eye view that was John Egbert, a scrawny boy we had picked up from this port quite a few years ago with coarse black hair and pale skin, like a lot of humans we have here. John Egbert usually wore brown trousers and a white shirt with some odd green patch right in the middle of the chest covering up a hole he had received at one point.

I moved swiftly along the side of the ship, people moving out of my way, knowing that if I was held up there would potentially be consequences. I heard the wood of the Aquarian beneath my feet as I went to go and check at the front of the ship, like a few others. It was well known we were a fast ship but this was ridiculous. Just as John had shouted, Land was visible from here. With a well trained eye, like my own, you would have been able to tell we were about five minutes from the shore if we kept up this pace. I slipped back into the people doing their duties when I re-met Terezi.

“So, land huh?” She asked, an ‘apple’ (or whatever its called) we had taken from a plunder on another island in her hand.

“Seems that w-way…” I stuttered out, rolling my eyes. Will she ever leave me to myself? I glanced at her from the side of my eyes and watched as she took a bite out of it. She seemed to have a taste for the colour red, which in itself is such a weird sentence to say. I mean, she hung out with the lowest bloods on board all the time, and those were mutants, basically the reddest type of red you could get, though I have to admit, one of them did not wear it with very much pride.

“Excited?” She smirked before letting out a little giggle. What goes through this girls MIND? You know what, forget I thought that, I don’t want the answer. That’s when there was a thump next to me and the scrawny boy who was shouting earlier was at my side.

“Morning Eridan!” He laughed. Always cheery, that John Egbert, kind of a nuisance to any of us who can’t be bothered in the mornings. As Makara would say though, hes a “motherfuckin’ bitchtits guy” to have on board, very useful in a lot of things.

“Good morning John, and how are you?” I said, addressing the human and, in turn, completely ignoring the girl nest to me who scoffed and walked away.

“Pretty good, I just can’t wait to hit land again, you know how bad my seasickness gets sometimes” He laughed shyly, scratching at the base of his matted black hair with uncut fingernails. He removed his hand from this position as me and him walked to the edge of the ship, leaning out, knowing that out feet would be on more steady shores once again very soon. I didn’t think I really cared much about the fact he was supposed to be on his post and doing his duty, right now I needed to speak to someone who wasn’t Terezi instead of just standing around with a million thoughts on his mind.

“Yes, I’ve realized” I said with a disgusted tone as John laughed at me, recalling the night on this trip we had hit a bad patch of ocean and, me being the comforting person I am, I went to help John with his sea sickness and ended up getting barfed on, much to the amusement of the crew.

“CALLIN’ IN!” A voice form the crew shouted. It’s caller was not a voice I recognized but I wasn’t fussed about that right now, I was concerned about the fact there was people unloading and hauling things along the port already. That’s when we heard the voices cut the air, conjoined and in one massive booming noise. It got all, though not the folks in charge of pulling the ropes in for our ship, listening.

We watched as the figures hauled boxes across the port, loud and rowdy noises escaping them all, but there was a few that caught my eyes. Just three members of the crowd I couldn’t see clearly, but they were standing discussing something after just dumping some crate from the ship onto the port for stronger folk to pull elsewhere. That’s when I heard a shout.

“GET DOWN AND PARK THE SHIP!” I looked over to see Cronus stood proud. Yeah, when he shouted an order, he occasionally lost that crazy annoying w, v thing he always did. It wasn’t even something he felt he had to control as I do because it’s a choice, not something he’s forced to do, unlike me, where my stutter is something I’m stuck with.

“Good morning Eridan” I turned quickly to see a woman stood next to me, tight fitting skirt and shirt clinging to her body.

“Jeez Rose, ya’ look soakin’. W-what happened?” I asked, looking her up and down as she sighed. Rose Lalonde, the Sailing master, shook her head looking down at herself.

“Yeah, I know, One of the cabin boys faults, don’t know which one, tripped over while carrying a bucket of water and spilled it over onto me” She sighed, “What on earth he was doing with a bucket of water I have no idea but, hey, this is the end up of it” She looked me in the eye as she shrugged, “Just glad to be seeing land” The girl was human, short bob cut blonde hair held back by a black piece of leather, the same style as the belt that held her skirt to her figure. A piece of silver in the shape of a skull that we had found on a venture she had claimed for her own now sat proudly on her leather belt, glistening in the morning sun. It was then the boat seemed to stop.

“I’ll have a w-word with the one I have a feeling it w-was, don’t you w-worry Miss Lalonde” I smiled at her. She returned the said smile.

“Thank you Eridan, I would be very grateful of you to do what I did not” She told me before brushing away to go and help out with unloading the ship. It was at this point the cabin boys and girls came up from the underbelly of the ship with crates as two diverted to the side.

“Karkat” My words are a command as a certain figure among the group stops in his tracks, sighs and walks towards me, matted black hair almost completely covering nubby horns that came out of his head, his hair cut short but in all directions. His outfit was almost completely identical to that of his ancestor, however his shirt was dark grey, shirt completely done up to the throat, and his baggy black trousers were held up with nothing but a piece of weak looking rope. I knew Karkat well, he despised the colour of blood he shared with the humans, unlike his ancestor, who we also held on board, who held his head high with pride of his blood colour.

“Yes Sir?” Karkat asked, looking up at me with eyes that reflected his blood colour. I wasn’t sure if Karkat knew about that and I wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. I crossed my arms over my chest before I blandly stated.

“W-were you the one w-who spilled on Miss Lalonde?” I had a stare that could freeze water, and a stance that could intimidate all, after all I was well practiced in what to do with people I needed to question. Karkat’s cool grey skin immediately lit up candy red.

“I… I didn’t mean to do it sir, honestly, it was an accident” Karkat said, panicked. I had warned him before about slipping up, and what could potentially happen. I sighed at him.

“Karkat” He looked back up at my eyes once again, “I can keep it from the captain, but I hawe to assure you that if the Quartermaster w-were to hear of it I w-would not be able to stop him” I told Karkat assuredly, “How-wever, I can keep this one for as long as possible and I’ll take the blame for it” I promised him.

“Sir, you don’t have to-”

“Kar, you’re a friend, you can stop callin’ me sir” I laughed slightly at how formal he was being towards me, finding great amusement in it, “And I do w-what I w-want you eejit, ya can’t stop me” I grinned at him as he relaxed and shook his head.

“Whatever you say, you fucking idiot” He laughed lightly before heading off to help out his ancestor and the other cabin boys and girls. Behind his back I was laughing too when I let my head turn and I spotted the captain of the other ship in the crowd. My face went from joyous to murderous in a matter of moments as Meenah Peixes and I caught each others eyes. I let a soft growl erupt from my throat before I got off the ship and set myself onto land. As I did I ended up brushing past her as she was in discussion with her dancestor.

“Meenah” I said stiffly as I walked past her.

“Eridan” She responded. I didn’t even know she knew my name but, it seemed that she did, Cronus must have brought me up in a squabble or something. I was almost off the small area of wood we were hooked onto when I noticed how disgruntled my crew looked.

“Well, looks like it’s time for a hauling shanty” I murmured to myself before placing my hands together and rubbing, “W-What do w-we do w-with a drunken sailor?” It took one line of me stuttering my ass off for the rest of the crew to join in, some voices bright and noticeable and outstanding from the rest, the most noticeable being Gamzee’s and Rose’s as the two seemed to have a small competition over who could be louder.

“WHAT DO WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR?!  
WHAT DO WE DO WITH A DRUNKEN SAILOR?!   
EARLY IN THE MORNING!” And just like that, the process seemed to speed up and everyone just seemed a little bit happier.

“Not bad Ampora” I heard the giggly voice over my shoulder yet again but, now, I couldn’t really be assed being annoyed with her as I grinned at them all.

“Cheers Terezi, ya w-want to help me take dow-wn a couple boxes?” I asked her with a laugh.

“As if! A blind girl carrying boxes?! Wow Ampora, ruuuuuude” She dragged out before giggling as I laughed at her, “Yeah sure, why the heck not” She grinned as we made our way quickly back on deck. It was then I felt an arm capture mine back on deck and a quick and harsh whisper made my ear.

“They’re starin’ Eri. You remember your duty…” Suddenly my arm was let go of as I turned back around and watched my ancestor walk away, his face as cold as stone. I had heard people on board saying before that I might make a better captain than my ancestor, for the simple reason that when people were down, I could help pick them back up, rather than just leaving them in the dirt like my ancestor would. I sighed and picked up a box of supplies with Terezi, the rough feeling of un-sanded wood brushing against my skin. We made it down to the platform and passed the crate along to the pair of cabin boy lowboods at the front of the line.

“Better watch yourself Eridan” I turned to Terezi who, I could see by her face, was suddenly very serious, “Trouble’s about to brew on high seas, even for a blind girl, I can sense it” She told me.

“I know-w Ter…” I sighed, “It’s just a case of w-what’s my part to play in it?” 


	5. Sollux: Wake up... Again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you stand at the top of the world, the people all seem beneath you, and scurry about like cockroaches. However, for you, Sollux, it's less standing and watching the people of the world scurry beneath you and more like watching the people of your opposition scurry about doing their jobs... Seem a bit more like ants than cockroaches anyway...

Watching the people from the Aquarian left me thinking that maybe they weren’t nearly as bad as I thought them to be. As a matter of fact the only one who seemed remotely intimidating was the captain and what I presume to be his dancestor. He seemed to have a styling to his hair similar to that of Meenah, pushing everything back with a bandanna. Maybe his hair just got annoying. I thought he might be a problem by the fact I witnessed him say something to Meenah, however he just brushed on past and started getting his brother’s crew in on shanties. I hadn’t expected it to be frank and, by the way she was speaking about it, neither did Aradia. As they continued their work we finished up ours and Meenah shouted the crew.

“Alright gills and buoys!” She called out as our crew all turned towards her, “We got about two days to restock so, today, and tonight, ya spend where ya want, go out and get beers for all I care!” She laughed as the rest of us did, “An’ I expect ya back at ten AM off time in two days here, I’ll come and find ya’ if I need yer assistance”

“Alright Cap’n!” The crew shouted in response, including my own shout in the call.

“Captor!” She said, and I looked her in the eyes as I smirked, “I need to speak to you a moment” My smirk disappeared as I approached her and the rest of the crew walked off. Aradia and Feferi stood behind me a moment before I signaled for them to go. They exchanged glances before leaving.

“Yes Meenah?” I lisped on the word I was tackling once I got to her. I smiled to her even though, inside, I was cringing, and cursing the fact that I even had a lisp.

“I have a job for you” I nodded at her words, “Ya’ gotta keep an eye on the ship, I ain’t takin’ any chances, ya’ get?”

“Of course” I told her even though inside I was a little upset. I was hoping to get on the ground, not spend yet another night on this ship. Whatever I guess…

“Knew I could rely on ya’ Sol” She grinned and patted my shoulder, “I’ll come check in on ya’ later a’right?” She smiled.

“Sure Meenah, though we both know you might end up forgetting” I laughed slightly through my lisps. She chuckled in response before walking off as I wandered back on board, sitting on the edge of the ship right next to the ramp leading up to it as I sighed and looked down at the Aquarians, watching them scurry around like ants. I laughed slightly and rested my chin on my hand. I kept my eyes on some of the more noticable characters. The captain and his first mate, the captain’s dancestor, two cabin boy trolls that seemed identical in almost every way despite their different coloured shirts, a blonde girl who looked like a younger more sophisticated Roxy, a pair of threatening looking trolls with face paint on and a scrawny looking lad who looked very similar to Jake. I could feel myself being watched as I looked around the crowd and I latched eyes with someone. I felt as if I recognized her, a tall troll with a pair of glasses on, eyes tinted red. She was staring at me as if I had something I had to tell her. I blinked at her and kept a straight face before looking away. Why do I recognize her? Is she important to me? Similar looking to that first mate. Strange. I slipped from the wooden exterior of the ship and out onto the boat. The Piscion didn’t get enough credit. Then again, as someone who practically grew up on the ship, what else would I say? I dragged my hand across my the surface, in a certain spot that I loved. On one patch, right next to the plank to get onto the ship, every pirate who had ever been on the Piscion had scored in a message, their name or just their initials. I enjoyed being on this ship, because every moment felt personal, like you were just meant to be there. Sure, I belonged on land, so what? This was pretty much my home now. I brushed my thumb across my name, written in my weird typing quirk, right next to my ancestors. “2ollux Captor” “M17UN4 C4P70R” I smiled. They were written between the Megidos and the Peixes, showing we were one of the most experienced names on the ship. The names littered across the panels. Soon enough, whenever that is of course, more names would join them, and the Piscion would grow. I stood up onto my unsteady feet and slipped across to the stairs. I sat down, and rested my head on the wood of the ship, listening to the sound of voices down below, knowing full well my psionics were well prepared if anyone was to walk aboard. It really didn’t take long at all for me to forget about the world around me and attempt to catch up on the sleep I missed the previous night, without even realising. Just as a feminine voice down below said Mituna…

***

When I awoke the sky was pitch black, and the cause of my sleep disruption was the same as the previous night’s. I sat up from the stairs and stood to my feet as I walked out to look down.

“MY FAULT?! YOU SON OF A BEACH, YOU CAN JUST GO AND SUCK YOUR OWN BULGE FOR ALL I CARE I DON’T GIVE A GLUB!”

“SUCK MY OW-VN BULGE?! YOU LITTLE BITCH!” The captain of the other ship? What the hell are they doing fighting just now, it’s night time for gods sake. I walked across the ship, glancing at the Aquarian and noticing one of the face painted goons just sitting smirking. Obviously doesn’t like his captain very much, very well… Looks like it’s up to me. I sighed, and moved out and quickly down the plank. The shouting and screaming continued as I approached. As I got closer I made awkward eye contact with the face painted troll who rolled his eyes and mimed strangling himself. I laughed slightly at him as I approached them when suddenly my serious face went on as the two began getting close to getting physical. That’s when the glasses came off and my psionics wrapped themselves around Meenah and the other Captian’s wrists.

“V-WHAT THE?!”

“WHA- CAPTOR!” She glanced round at me.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” I said sternly but truthfully, weaving my way in between the pair, “CALM IT DOWN!”

“YOU’RE ONE TA TALK!” The other captain said sternly. I took a deep breath. Wow, this guy doesn’t even know me and he’s already getting on my last fucking nerve. I let a growl escape me as I took his collar, my psionics still holding them both back, and pulled him forward to my face.

“Listen here bucko, I don’t know who the fuck you are but you better be listening very carefully. I have full capability on holding you back and letting Meenah go ham out on your useless body and simply let you suffer the pain, but I’m giving you a chance to calm down so you better take it wisely” I said, the buzzing of psionics rich in my ears as my words came spitting out like harsh venom. The captain didn’t say a word as he nodded harshly, obviously scared for his life, “Alright” and just like that, I let go of his collar and dropped them both at the same time, “You gonna listen to me?” I heard a scoff that did not come from either of the two people stood in front of me and looked back up to the painted figure on the Aquarian.

“He never listens to anyone but his blood type and above mother fucker so good luck with that” He laughed aloud.

“For once the Makara was right” Makara? That’s the guys name? Not too bad actually. I glanced at the captain, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Stopping my captain from being killed” I tell him sternly and that’s when he stopped. And he started fucking laughing. He was buckled over.

“Man your choice has gotten v-worse Peixes. I thought some o’ your other choice were bad, Jegus Christ!” He laughed out. Okay, now this was getting personal. I was trying to stop him getting killed but, at the rate this is going, I’m gonna kill him myself.

“I swear his waste chute is getting’ jealous of the amount of waste coming out o’ his mouth right now” Meenah muttered. I gave her a warning glance, and I think she got the gist of it by the fact my eyes were still buzzing like crazy even though I had stopped holding onto them. Speaking of which, I better put my glasses back on. I slipped them onto my face, glancing quickly to the left when I got the colours of the night sky reflecting on the water to calm me down. I sighed once again.

“I don’t know what’s so funny about a psionic being on a boat, after all I thought it was a high blood thing to attach us up and make us helmsmen, something I’m particularly happy about” The last part came across as nothing more than a small mutter, “but well you might as well continue laughing, there’s nothing wrong with that” I sighed.

“V-Well hey, if laughter is the v-world’s best medicine, yer face is curin’ the v-world mate!” He laughed out loud. That was too fucking far.

“DON’T YOU DARE INSULT H-“

“MEENAH!” She glanced at me as I shouted at her, “YOU’RE IN DEEP ENOUGH SHIT WITH THIS DOUCHE BAG ALREADY!” I tell her strictly and to the point. I took yet another deep breath as I turned back towards him, “The hell is your name?” I recognized in my head that his name had been told to me before but I couldn’t bring it forward.

“Cronus Ampora” He said calmly, as if nothing was going on which almost made me start growling again but I was holding on back. I was on the verge of exploding on this guy, no lie.

“Sollux Captor, good to meet you douche bag” I gritted out.

“Captor? Say you don’t happen ta’ know-v a Mituna do ya’” My eyes widened and the fact Meenah’s constant harsh breaths were stopped, she knew that this guy had to pick his next words very, VERY wisely, “Someone I know-v happens ta’ know-v him…” A clicking could be heard to my right, like the sound of shoes on wood… Could be what it is as a matter of fact, “V-What happened ta’ him? She’s w-very curious” He grinned. I knew he could tell he was hitting a soft spot because he was getting more confident, and I was getting closer and closer to shoving him off this fucking pier, but that would give him the same death, and that would just be disrespectful to him.

“Leave him out of this” Meenah growled out behind me.

“Really? V-why? Did he v-walk out on ya’? Just peace out a’ there while he could?” He was grinning from ear to ear. My ancestor would have punished this guy right here and now if he was talking shit about me. I was getting so close. I was nothing like my ancestor however, the way this guy was acting, I might just lash out irrationally, “Sounds like a smart idea, v-whoev-wer the guy v-was, he musta’ felt bad ta’ hav-we a dancestor like ya’-”  THAT’S I-

“CRO!” I glanced around to my right, and we all found ourselves in shock, as a very attractive amethyst blood came storming down the peer directly towards us, eyes blazed in an emotional fire…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support guys, it really helps me out when typing these up <3


	6. Eridan: STOP YOUR CRAZY ANCESTOR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, you just have to stop and review a situation. Other times, if you're Eridan Ampora, you have to storm into a situation without really thinking about what might be coming next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters in three days?! This is unusual for me... Thanks summer for being actual shit so I can get stuff done! :D

The fresh smell of land and grass was the first thing I noticed as soon as I was away from the ship, and I found myself wandering down the side of the ocean with Rose, after Cro gave a massive speech about how we all had to be back by 10:30 AM sharp in two days time. As if we hadn’t heard Meenah shouting about 10AM the same day. God my ancestor was being so bloody obvious but he didn’t even notice it himself. He’s such an idiot. I growled to myself.

“Are you alright Eridan?” I flicked back around to Rose, whom I had completely forgotten was there for a moment, “You only start growling to yourself when you are very angry… What’s going on?” She asked. I took a deep breath of ocean air and decided to choose my next words very wisely.

“Cro. That’s all I have to say on the matter” I said very blandly. She nodded, completely understanding where I was coming from, “W-What do you reckon? Is he out an’ gettin’ drunk?” I asked with a laugh, to which Rose responded with the same reaction.

“I cannot say I would be surprised if he was Eridan” She laughed and I grinned at her, because we both knew it was true.

“ROSIE!!!” Our heads both turned and as I got slightly confused at the sight of someone who looked very similar to Rose and even more confused when Rose let out a groan.

“Eridan, I better go, I promised Roxy I’d spend some time with her” Rose sighed.

“Roxy?” I asked, to which Rose nodded in response, she glanced back up at the figure, flouncy white blonde hair identical to Rose’s locks, “Sister?” I asked her, as I believe the human term is, and Rose nodded once again.

“Only problem between us is our points of view… She chose Meenah and I chose Cronus” She spoke blandly, to which I gritted my teeth and sucked in air, allowing the clicking noise to come out with it.

“Yeesh… She’s a Piscion…” I mutter. Rose popped her lips before turning back to me.

“Well, I hope you get over whatever’s making you angry Eridan, I better go” She smiled and walked away, towards her sibling. I watched the two walk away and, stood next to each other, you could practically see the complete contrasts of personality, Roxy seeming to be a bright, smiling, drunk, sunshine with more of a toddler-ness to her and Rose being a quiet, serious, sober and sophisticated woman.

“Jegus” I murmured quietly. I turned back around and continued on down the pier, enjoying the feeling of my shoe covered feet entering and lifting up the sand. I continued to think about my ancestor the whole time I walked down that stretch, listening to people being people elsewhere, the sound of crackers going off and so many other things that you could hear going on in the town. Just trolls and humans being who they were and getting along… Something that didn’t always happen everywhere you went. I turned on my heel and, far, far away, I could see that the Aquarian still sat floating next to the Piscion. Knowing that the Aquarian was in the well military-trained hands of Gamzee, I felt no fear what so ever in the Aquarian’s safety. But, for some strange reason, a stirring in my throat made me want to go back, so I started running along that beach front, the sound of wind whistling like Terezi on a good morning in my ears, the sand pushing under my feet and giving me some form of boost, as I skirted along the beach front, not once slowing, the air flowing in through my mouth and nose and gills before being pushed back out again, my fins pushed flat against my head. I’m not going to lie, whatever this feeling was it was getting stronger, to the point I slowed to the stop when the Aquarian wasn’t too far away, the wooden platform that lead to the beach now in view. The stars were twinkling in my view, as I looked to the heavens and seemed to find little to nothing to view. The aquarius zodiac constellation glittered above me. My symbol. Born exactly two sweeps and one human ‘day’ after my brother, we shared the Aquarius symbol with pride. I smiled. That’s when a shout rung in my ears.

“DON’T YOU DARE INSULT H-“ What the fuck?

“MEENAH!” Well that makes more sense. I started jogging up the planks of wood that lead down to the beach area, knowing that whatever the hell was going on I was walking straight into it no matter what happened. However it seemed to involve some member of the Aquarian and the captain of the Piscion… And someone trying to keep her in order, “YOU’RE IN DEEP ENOUGH SHIT WITH THIS DOUCHE BAG ALREADY!” Well then, that settles that, there are definitely three of them because that was a singular name and Meenah is there and someone keeping her in order, male by the sounds of things, probably someone important to her. I started getting closer to the sounds of the voices and that’s when I identified the one other figure who hadn’t spoken yet… and I swear to gog.

“Cronus Ampora” My ancestor spoke calmly with a smirk on his face, as if he was genuinely pleased with himself that he was getting on Meenah’s nerves. So far, I had been lucky, my shoes weren’t clicking but I knew this wood. As soon as I took a step onto this wood I would be heard. So I decided to stand and watch a moment.

“Sollux Captor, good to meet you douche bag” The figure opposite him said, as if he was holding himself back. Not surprised, by the sounds of things Cronus had been genuinely pissing him off. I took a good look over him, noticing that he was definitely a psionic. Didn’t see a lot of them these days… He was tall, with a yellow tinge to his grey skin. His eyes were covered by a pair of blue and red glasses and his teeth were gritted. Sollux huh? He stood in front of Meenah by covering half her body with his, as if shielding her from Cronus.

“Captor? Say you don’t happen ta’ know-v a Mituna do ya’” Oh fuck no… It seemed he had hit a soft spot for Sollux and Meenah had appeared to stop breathing. I started to get mad myself. I knew Mituna was a sore topic. The guy hadn’t spoken to his matesprit in at least a sweep! That was when Latula told me about him anyway. But it seemed Sollux knew him. “Someone I know-v happens ta’ know-v him… V-What happened ta’ him? She’s w-very curious” She’s not bloody curious Cro you bulge sucking douche whale!! Her blood pusher is fucking broken! I wanted to shout at him, yell at him. How could he be so insensitive?!

“Leave him out of this” Meenah growled out. Oh, so something did happen. Sollux does know Mituna and it’s obviously hurt him very closely as well as it’s hurt Latula. Maybe he ran away or something. Must have been a pretty decent guy though to get on with both crews. Without even realizing it, a small bit before, I had started walking.

““Really? V-why? Did he v-walk out on ya’? Just peace out a’ there while he could? Sounds like a smart idea, v-whoev-wer the guy v-was, he musta’ felt bad ta’ hav-we a dancestor like ya’-“ HOLY, OH FUCK NO! That was it, I was pissed. Cro had warned me about messing with Piscions and here he was, the Captor boy looked like he was about to explode when I shouted and got all their attention.

“CRO!” I was about six strides from Cronus as he flicked round to me. When he first saw it was me he relaxed slightly before he realised I was mad, and mad at him.

“Eri v-wh-“ He started out, glancing at me when I smacked him, and hard, the sound of my skin on his in a moment seemed to echo across the harbour. He blinked at the wood, holding his cheek as I stared at him.

“HAWE YA’ LOST YER FUCKIN’ MIND?!?!” I yelled at him, “HOW-W IN THE HELL W-WOULD LATULA FEEL IF SHE KNEW-W YA’ W-WERE TALKIN’ ABOUT HER MATESPRITE IN SUCH A MANNER?!” Sollux looked shocked from what I could glimpse from the corner of my eye, “I OUGHT TA’ THROW-W YA’ OFF THIS FUCKIN’ PIER I SW-WEAR!” I was on the verge of tears. Latula was a close friend and very tightly connected to the Aquarian so I would stand up for her no matter what, even if it brought an end to me.

“Oh, that’s v-who I w-vas thinkin’ of…” Cronus murmured. I could not- WHAT?! HE JUST FORGETS WHO THE FACTS BELONG TO?!

“I SW-WEAR TO CHRIST CRO! AND TAKIN’ THESE FACTS OUT ON SOMEONE W-WHO’S OBWIOUSLY AFFECTED BY ‘IM TOO! THAT’S BEYOND CRUEL!” I gasped out. Cronus leaned up, making eye contact with me, before glancing to Meenah and then back at me. I expected him to be the one to speak but when he stayed silent I simply said it straight and to the point, “You. Go. Drink elsewhere… You’we done enough damage” He growled at me but followed my words. Not without a final promise to Meenah and Sollux of course.

“THIS AIN’T OV-WER MEENAH!” He yelled out before storming off. I sighed when suddenly I heard something behind me.

“WOOO!” I turned around and saw Gamzee clapping on the ship, “TEAM ERIDAN! YEEEEEEEH!” I laughed at Gamzee quietly.

“THANK YOU GAM!” I shout back jokingly. I turn back around to the two people behind me, “Sorry about my ancestor, he ain’t wery w-well trained” I told them with a sigh, half of my face raised.

“That’s alright, thanks for yer help but, ain’t ya’ supposed to be on his side?” Meenah asked. I sighed slightly and shrugged at her.

“Ta’ be frank, Captain Peixes, He don’t ewen run the ship properly. I’m usually the one helpin’ out the crew-w. He just kinda deals w-with w-who is and ain’t our enemy” I tell her truthfully, “Anyw-ways, I better be off soon enough, I’m not exactly due to be here…” I smiled.

“Sol, ya’ can head out, I’ll take shift now-w” Meenah told the tall and handsome psionic to my right. I’m not going to lie, he’s attractive.

“Cheers Meenah” I hadn’t noticed it in his shouting before but he had a pretty predominant lisp to him. That’s when Meenah walked off, just ahead of me as I gave Gamzee a quick wave and continued walking away. The breeze was brushing across my face as I walked across to the walls of the pier.

“WAIT, HOLD UP!” I turned around, presuming that the shouting was directed towards me. I came face to face with Sollux and I noticed, in that moment, that there were a couple of sparks flying next to his eyes. He was using his psionics recently… Having read up on pretty much everything that anyone can do ever in our society today, it came as little to no surprise this was the message that sprung up in my head.

“Can I help ya’ at all?” I asked him in return, sticking on a quick smirk on my face, and a relaxed stance, somehow finding the most comfortable one to be in in front of this guy wasn’t with my hands on my hips as it normally was but with my arms folded across my chest, as if my body was completely ready to be pushed underneath this guy, even though I knew I wouldn’t be. Somethin’ about this whole ordeal was scaring me now. He blinked at me, as if choosing his next words carefully from a dictionary in his mind.

“Do you mind coming for a walk with me?” He asked. I nodded.

“Can I ask w-what it is ya’ want to talk about?” I said before offering for him to walk ahead.

“You said you knew Latula” He lisped, and I nodded once again, “I… I’d like to tell you… What happened to Mituna”


	7. Sollux: Speak To The Aquarian About Mituna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it's harder to talk about someone who's died than you think and it's even fucking harder when you're basically ranting about it to someone you're due to hate... But you just can't. Eridan's agreed to listen to you and, you, Sollux Captor, could not be more grateful.

When the words slipped out of my mouth, I knew I had made the right decision. Now I knew who I had been staring at earlier, that was Mituna’s old matesprit and I had never gotten the chance to speak to her about what happened. Might as well speak to Eridan about it since he knows her and will most likely see her before I do.

“You… You w-what?” He asked me, one eyebrow raised, looking me in the eye but his eyes flicking back and forth. Like everyone else I had ever known, he’s probably deciding whether he should look into red or blue.

“I want to tell you about Mituna, Latula’s matesprit and my ancestor?” I said. More of a question than a statement, not exactly the best way to put it. I felt the sigh I would have given normally at such a stupid way to put it but I was not letting this escape. He might be good looking and might have saved me from his ancestor but he was still a fucking Aquarian and there was no way I was going to be nice to one of THEM. Latula was the only exception, and that was because Mituna fucking begged me to be nice.

“Alright then” He said after a while of thinking, as if he was deciding whether or not he was going to listen. I nodded at him before I started up.

“Well… Where do I begin?” I asked more myself than him but he responded anyway.

“Why not, about the Piscion or Latula and Mituna?” Eridan asked. Both viable… But I’d rather not talk about Latula and Mituna’s relationship because some of the things I did were just straight up embarrassing.

“Okay… The day we joined the PIscion it is… Only have about two months after that to talk about anyway,” I lisped out;

***

Mituna and I had always been around each other, as far back as I can remember. He had always stood around me, and stood up for me, which is why I always did as he said and after the… incident, Which I refuse to talk about by the way, I always stood up for him. We joined the Piscion not long after that and, being Psionic, we were accepted straight away. We thought about the Aquarian, not going to lie, but after what Latula had told us about Cronus and the way he treated people, along with Mituna’s current state, we weren’t going to risk it. We didn’t bother telling Latula, because she would probably try and swing us the other way and ask us to join the Aquarian… I wasn’t going to take any risks. At five sweeps, I was taking care of my ancestor on a ship I wasn’t due to be on and pirating, with the chance of getting arrested. It was a chance I was willing to take, anything to keep us out of the debt we were due to slip into. And just like that, my memories of land seemed to wash away alongside my fear of the ocean.

***

Eridan watched my every move as I spoke, looking at me as I shared with him what really happened, and why I had a reason to be so sensitive about it. I took a breath, deciding whether or not to continue.

“Carry on” I glanced at him as he said it, “I’m listenin’” He smiled. I nodded and then continued onward.

“Might as well miss the fluff and tell you what happened” I continued:

***

That night had been very similar to a night not too long ago, a while after we had been aboard. I had been awoken by Mituna when he shouted on me and I woke up to see him completely soaked, as the thunder and lightning cracked the sky. He had called on me with his kind of mixed up voice and said that we needed all hands on deck to try and stop the sip from flooding in case we went under so, being the ship orientated person I was, I followed what he said and pulled myself from my resting and sprinted up to the deck. At that point all I could really do was pail out the ship and stay by myself, I wasn’t very good at talking to people at that point. I had to keep my breathing extremely steady as I took that bucket through the water, my ancestor right next to me, as we attempted to pail out the ship, as waves so high they could sweep out a ship easily crashed down on us, it’s surprising we didn’t sink at all. Mind, after about three, we had found ourselves in the middle of the ship, knocked together with the Peixes and the Megidos. We found ourselves in a bit of a scramble to get out of that mess before the next wave hit… Unfortunately… We were too late.

That wave was one of the biggest I had ever seen, and it crashed down on us with enough force to break a neck, sweeping over us. I made eye contact with him at that point

***

I hadn’t even realized me and Eridan had stopped walking before I sat down on the sand and spotted Eridan was right next to me. He looked worried, as if he knew what was coming but didn’t want to hear it… As if Mituna meant something to him even though he really didn’t… And I knew that;

***

It was as if I was watching myself but it was him and I knew that. One moment the eyes were there, next they weren’t. I panicked when I came up for there and reamed for him, noticing his hands grasping onto the side of the ship as I dived for him. I grabbed onto his hand and attempted to haul him back up when another hit and I almost lost him to the sea.

‘SOL!” I remember looking him in the eye, when he said that, and seeing myself, as he clung onto me. I didn’t have as good control of my psionics at that point, especially not in situations that I am panicked,

“LET ME GO!” Those were the words that came out of his mouth, but I couldn’t do that, and I couldn’t find the words to say it so I simply shook my head while gasping for air.

“PLEASE SOLLUX!” His voice was so raspy. It was unbelievable. It was worse than when I went to see him right after the incident had happened, as if he was really on his last threads, “I DON’T WANNA DRAG YOU IN TOO! AND WE BOTH KNOW YOU’RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO PULL ME UP!” The next wave was coming and I knew that, why was I still holding on I didn’t know, it was obvious he wanted me to save myself… But I couldn’t do that.

“I CAN’T MITUNA!” I remember calling at him when the force was back on my neck and, what I could not morally do for my ancestor, the ocean did for me. My ancestor’s wrist was dragged from my grasp and he was swept off, my stomach knocking into the side of the ship. When I hit air again, I remember screaming for him, expecting to see him come slipping back up, but I saw nothing. And it was my fault, I wasn’t strong enough to hold onto him and get him back on board.

***

I could feel Eridan’s eyes on me as I stared with hatred at the ocean, the sand underneath my butt, sadness deep in my gut. “Yes, I still blame myself for what happened. No, it hasn’t stopped haunting me, and…” I turned to him as I stood, “If you deem yourself fit to do so… Tell Latula” I nodded at him, “Thanks for listening, really helped me get that off my chest, but I have to be somewhere” I told him straight.

“a’ course…” And with that I started walking away, “Captor” I stopped and turned back around to the Aquarian who had literally just heard the story of my troubles in a fucking nutshell, “I’m sorry”. I nodded my head.

“Not your fault. Don’t go apologizing for such a thing” I smiled sadly before wandering off, knowing that somewhere in the town was my friends, probably in a bar somewhere drinking… And I needed to drink, I hadn’t had one in a long time.

***

**The Blue Scepter Taproom** just so happened to be the place where you met a couple of people from the Piscion who you did not expect to meet. Sure, you didn’t talk to them very much but they were still friends. Kanaya Maryam, a sweet and sophisticated troll in a short red skirt and a black stained shirt, black hair well organised in a natural fashion. She was one of two rainbow drinkers on board the PIscion (the other being her ancestor) and, it just so happened to be blood she was drinking currently. Beside her, slightly disgruntled by this practice, was a royal blue blood called Equius Zahhak. His white shirt was ripped off at the sleeves, showing off rippling muscle beneath. He was sweating slightly, but hey, what else is new? His hair lay flat down the sides of his head and he was something quite special. Loads of people had guesses as to how his one of his horns was broken and, when people asked, the only thing he said was, he “didn’t like to talk about it”. How would I describe Equius’s personality? Well, lets put it this way, even though his brute strength is useful at points, he can be a fucking asshole, and that’s the long and short of it. And I thought I was bad…

“Sup Kanaya, Equius, how’s things?” I asked, my lisp coming in strong.

“Ah, hello Sollux, how are you?” Equius asked. He seemed to be a bit better with the different blood types these days, he used to be a massive fucking dick and called me and Mituna “mustard blood”, something I did not appreciate and proudly showed Equius this by punching him in the face.

“Pretty good, Thanks Equius” I smirked.

“Care for a drink?” Kanaya asked, handing me a random drink from the bar and I rolled my eyes. Obviously people were buying drinks for her again that she really didn’t want.

“Thanks” I laughed. I wasn’t one for cocktails really but, hey ho.

“I do believe that’s a passion of the south sun” Equius spoke calmly to me, and I could not believe my ears, not only was this guy a robotics geek undercover but also… A fucking cocktail expert? “spirits infused with passion fruit and some kind of lemon infused water” Wow jegus, I didn’t think we could do that just now but, from the random things Aradia said, maybe it was.

“Well, cheers” I said quietly and took a sip. It sure tasted fruity that’s for sure… And definitely not my thing, “Well, I’ve decided I’m sticking to beer tonight” Kanaya laughed at my statement as Equius nodded and went to pick up his glass of milk, smashing it as soon as he touched it.

“Fiddlesticks…” He grunted. As he looked at the glass in his hands and me and Kanaya cringed at the mess caused before I finally took a seat in next to Kanaya. Humans immediately began cleaning up the mess, after all they had adapted to our society and understood that we saw people of his blood type as being above us. Kanaya, however, was the one to sit picking bits of glass out of his hand as I ordered a pint. When it arrived, Kanaya had gotten all of the glass out of Equius’s hand and was now wrapping it. There were times, like this one, I really felt sorry for the guy. But hey, you had to, after all, how can you not when everything he touches breaks into pieces. Once his hand was wrapped, he simply rubbed it with his other hand, calmly touching his fingers with a look of pain on his face. I took a sip of the beer, the alcohol rushing into my system, a taste of some form of herb lingering on my lips. Mituna was still heavily on my brain, along with what happened with that Aquarian, Eridan Ampora… But right now, I was going to forget about it all, and just have a night where I could drink with my friends and relax when I had the chance.


	8. Eridan: Hang out with your other crew members

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, there's nothing quite as relaxing as a talk on the beach and then a beer with your pals. Wait- correction. For Eridan Ampora, There's nothing quite as stressful as being told about one of your friend's matesprite's deaths and being told you have to tell them and then having to go and associate with Vriska. Fucking. Serket.

I’m not going to lie, that’s not what I fuckin’ expected. So Mituna is dead, and I have to be the one to break it to Latula? Well, it’ll answer some questions but she’s gonna be in floods of tears for days… Oh gog, how did I get myself into this mess? I sighed, looking after the figure as he made a quick left, walking away from me, with a soft smile on his face. I sighed and slipped deeper into the sand. I wasn’t going to move for a long while. I looked out at the horizon as the stars continued to appear. It was like watching an artist at work, as he spotted small points of white and very light yellow onto a canvas completely decored in black paint. It was beautiful to see as they lit up the sky in harmony. The waves moved gracefully up the sand and gathered around the small pieces of grit, sticking some of the sand together. The moon and the night time was something that I basked in and often left the beauty of night for other people to see, however I did enjoy the colours of the sunset and often stayed up for that, if not asleep on the ship. One of the reasons I’m very happy Gamzee left me the three o’clock morning start shift – also kind of mad about that because sometimes a guy really needs his beauty sleep. Sat where I was, I was left thinking about Sollux’s story of what happened to Mituna and how the hell I was supposed to tell Latula. Telling her straight up might make her lose it and she’s such a fragile soul at the minute that, I couldn’t do that to her. I mean, she’s the rad-est girl I know and she’s got some kick ass moves that have really come in handy lately. However, I can’t risk just leaving it, then I would be breaking a promise – unspoken by me - to Sollux that I would let her know. God, you know what you need Ampora? Alcohol… I sighed, giving in to the thoughts in my head. After all, I had said to John when he left the ship and I went to the beach I’d meet him and a couple others for a few drinks later on. He said that he’d wait outside for me at around one in the morning. He knew that’d be when I’d give in. Looking at the sky and plotting out the time with the position of the moon I realized he knew a little too much about me as I stood up and began walking back to the pier so that I could go and meet up with the others.

The town was a small and sweet one, filled with chatty people, even at this hour, as loads of bars harboured loads of people. For the amount of time Cronus seemed to have been Meenah’s enemy, there wasn’t too much hostility between us Aquarians and the Piscions, as a matter of fact, some family members went and spoke to one another once off the ship, like Rose and Roxy. However others did not have any family members either off the ship or on the other ship. The smell of freshly cooked food and ale wafted through the streets along with the smell of sweat and the scent of people in general. Kind of disgusting really…

“ERIDAN!” I turned and spotted John waving at me, pint of beer in hand, stood beneath a sign. **The Winking Beggar Barroom** … Well that sounds trustworthy… Not. _Oh well, John’s picked another shit place, whatever, just have to deal with it, I suppose_ , I found myself thinking. I walked over to him with a half smile on my face.

“Early Mornin’ to ya’ John” I joked. John laughed at me as I approached, “Listen, I am gonna hawe a long day today. I need ya’ to recommend the strongest shit this bar has” I comment as we begin to walk in together side by side.

“I’d recommend you go beer or ale for tonight then because the vodka they have here is strong as fuck but it’ll put you to sleep in a fuckin’ heartbeat” He smirked as I nodded at him. Just as we were about to get to the bar and grab a pint, I felt a small scratch on my arm before I was sent flying into John with a small… uh… Manly scream. Who am I kidding, I sounded like a little girl as I was sent flying. Looking up from the position I found out that the predator was that of a girl, and thus I was able to identify before she even looked up. Nepeta Leijon, one of the most violent but sweet people on board, able to rip an enemy to pieces with her bear hands. It was then her face popped up, grinning, glistening white fangs showing between black lips. Short cut hair that framed the face was topped off by a blue bandanna that did not match her olive-green blood colour what so ever but topped off her black hari perfectly, holding back pointed coned horns that resembled the ears of a cat, perched perfectly atop her head.

“NEP! JEGUS!” I shouted, slapping myself in the face as she simply laughed at me.

“Oh come on Mister Ampurra, if it had been anyone else you would admit it was funny” She grinned in delight, standing up and offering me a hand up before offering one to John as well, giggling.

“Sometimes I really don’t understand you” I sighed, a small smile on my face, officially going up to the bar, “I need the strongest ale you got” I told the bartender, a human female with a rather wrinkled but kindly face who nodded before going off and getting a tankard, filling it with some unlabled ale.

“Whatever price ya’ think is right lad” She smiled at me and I threw her a gold coin from a small sack on my belt. Pretty precious those ones, don’t see them everyday. She seemed a bit shocked at it, but thankful afterwards as she moved on to someone else with a quick “pleasure doin’ business with ya’ lad” I nodded before walking behind Nepeta and John to where there was another female sitting at a table. Of course… My ex-kismesis. I rolled my eyes. Vriska damn-bitch-ass-whore Serket. Long black hair and miss matched horns, navy blue blood and one crazy eye with seven pupils within it. Why John had an attraction to this bitch, ever, even if it was only pale, is beyond me. She was one of few girls aboard who wore a skirt, Terezi and Rose being the only others that came to mind at the moment, Latula always wore trousers as did Nepeta as far as I was aware. Her shirt was sleeveless, showing off her arms, though there was little to them and, currently, she was keeping herself entertained by fiddling around with one of those eight leg beasts she idolised so much.

“Hey, Vriskurr, stop lounging across the seats, we all need one” Nepeta complained to the female troll who hadn’t seemed to realise that she had company. She turned to Nepeta with a smirk, that smirk faltering slightly when she made eye contact with my glaring eyes but then put her composure back on.

“Oh pleeeeeeeease Nepeta! Everyone knows cats aren’t allowed on furniture!” She grinned at the young cat girl.

“Leave Nep to do as she w-wants Wris… It ain’t your decision ta’ make” I growled at her as Nepeta stared at the ground. Vriska rolled her eyes and swung her legs off the chair.

“W-whatewer you say, EriDUMB!” She said, mocking me angrily. I growled and let John take a seat to next to her and the rest of us pushing up so that John was between me and her and Nepeta was next to me. I took a swig from the beer, feeling a burn where Vriska’s eyes were on me, for sure. I finished drinking as Nepeta started laughing and I looked at her, wondering what the hell could be funny at a time like this.

“You’ve got a meowstache Mister Ampurra” Nepeta laughed as I attempted to look at it and John joined the laughter, Vriska being a total spoil sport and finding it immature. I licked at it but couldn’t get it all off so wiped at it with my sleeve. The taste was certainly strong, so the bartender was accurate in her choice. I swallowed thickly on my own spit as our group fell into an awkward silence.

“So, Eridan” I turn to John as he starts up conversation, “You said it was going to be a long day?”

“Oh yeah, I’m not getting’ any sleep tonight… Cro put me up to w-watch w-with Gam and I’we got three in the morn’ till three in the afternoon shift” I sighed.

“That’s a bit impurractical Eridan,” Nepeta commented.

“I agree, but Makaras w-work better at night compared to Seadw-wellers, like myself” I respond, taking yet another swig.

“Ah, of coooooooourse they would. Did he tell you that Ampora? Gog you’re soooooooo gullible and stupid” Vriska laughed. I growled quietly, at a pitch where only Nepeta and myself could hear it.

“Vriska, play nice” John simply commented and Vriska looked gobsmacked.

“John, you’re going to take his side on this?” Vriska asked, in absolute shock. Damn right he was, spider – is that the human term for it? – bitch.

“yes! Have you seen the Makaras work at night? Fucking terrifying, let me tell you that” He spoke calmly and casually. It was true, the way they worked at night was absolutely terrifying, the way they jumped people out of nowhere and ended lives. I shuddered at the thought of what it must be like to be on the receiving end of that. I was entrusting the window and the moon for my time, hoping that I could make it back in time, using a sundial not too far away that spread it’s pattern onto the ground. Don’t let it start raining yet.

“Eridan, you okay?” John asked.

“Just don’t w-want ta’ be late” I commented quietly.

“URGH, Why don’t you just go now then?!” Vriska asked, infuriated by my presence.

“If it’ll stop ya’ flippin’ out at me, I w-will” I proposed simply in return when I felt a tug on my sleeve.

“Go on Eridan, it’ll be time soon enough. I’ll see you tomorrow yes?” Nepeta said quietly when I flicked round to her.

“O’ course” I smirked, “See ya’ later John” I said casually before walked out of the barroom, with a quick nod of my head to the bar lady. Of course, after one drink, I wasn’t nearly drunk enough, however, I would much rather be there by Gamzee and a bit early than late, drunk and with a chance of being murdered. I walked down the planks of wood along the bank, the late night breezes rushing past me as I walked up the planks up to the Aquarian.

“You’re early Eribro” Gamzee stated when I was on the ship. It seemed he was upside down and hanging off of one of the ships multiple platforms up to the Captain’s quarters.

“Yeah, Wris w-was pissin’ me off again an’ I didn’t hawe much to do anyw-way so I might as w-well be here” I told him truthfully with a bit of mood in my voice as he chuckled at me.

“I’ll motherfuckin’ stick around till three, then I’m off. You wanna sit down?” Gamzee asked me and I nodded, hopping up to the platform just under the one he was hanging upside down from so I was on his level and just started laughing at the strange fellow. I’m not sure why but in that strange moment it hit me once again that I had to tell Latula about Mituna and I sighed. Why do I have this strange feeling Sollux Captor is about to mess up my entire life?


	9. Sollux: Head back to the Piscion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wait, what happened last night? And how did I end up here? The questions on every person's mind when they wake up outside the bar they were in the previous night, lying on the ground. They are certainly the questions on Sollux's mind anyway. Mind you, the follow up thoughts are not usually about making sure you get to your pirate ship on time to make sure your Captain doesn't get mad about you being late...

I woke up to the blasted sunlight in my eyes and found myself cursing in the middle of the street as my eyes burned up because of it. What the hell? How did I end up here? I looked around to see Equius draped over a chair facing forward and Kanaya on the ground next to me, her legs spread unflattering-ly wide in the other direction on a chair. What the fuck happened last night again? I racked my brains for what happened after I started drinking with Equius and Kanaya, my head thumping as I did so.

***

After about three drinks myself, watching Kanaya do four and Equius getting a hand with a couple himself we were pretty tipsy. I can recall being on the verge of passing out on the bar because, if I don’t force myself, I’m pretty lightweight, no matter what I tell myself. I can’t really recall all that much but I remember running outside and yelling a bunch of quotes form things I remembered from the ship, I recall helping to Kanaya help recite Troll William Shakespeare when Equius was trying to convince her she was too drunk already and shouldn’t drink anymore. I recall Equius trying to pick a fight with someone about twice his size (which I found quite hilarious because he’s already a big guy himself) for “looking like a red bummed banana beast”. I recall claiming I was working for a secret agency to try and gain some popularity points. Kanaya puked on the bar which ended up getting us kicked out by another drunk person at the bar claiming this was “their tipsy territory”. Equius ripped some stuff off the walls outside before we all passed out outside of the taproom.

***

Now here I was, lying on the ground groaning and struggling to get up. I pushed my hand up to my head and put slight pressure onto it. I opened my eyes once again, thankfully more adjusted as I pulled myself to my feet. To be honest, it was more of a surprise to me that no one from the ship had given us a hand up or anything. I quickly sorted out Kanaya so that people were not starting at her privates and felt her begin to stir in my arms.

“Kanaya?” I asked, sitting her on the ground. She blinked her eyes open and yawned at me.

“What… Happened last night?” She asked hesitantly. I laughed at her and shook my head, not blessing her with an answer. As for Equius… I didn’t really plan on what would happen when I woke him. I hummed to myself before plucking a small loose stone from between the cobbles and throwing at him. The rock smacked into his face with a little more force than I thought it would and yet, it was the rock who broke, Equius simply groaned and adjusted himself so that he didn’t have to wake up.

“Eq, please?” I asked him, laughing. He groaned once again before lifting his head to face me.

“Sollux… Leave me” He said simply, looking at me directly. Or… At least I think he was, I can never really tell. Gently though, he pushed up from the chair and stood up, brushing a hand through his hair. Kanaya pulled herself up to her feet and let a breath escape her lips, a small smell of alcohol still escaping. With the three of us on our feet I made the decision in my head that it might be best to head back to the Piscion. However-

“Maybe we should head to the pier, or the Piscion. Didn’t you mention that you had to fill in for cover on the Piscion today?” Kanaya filled in the gap of silence before I had the chance to even start. I nodded in agreement with a smirk on my face, which she definitely identified but, she didn’t say anything.

“On the contrary, I promised Feferi I would meet her at eleven, I must head further into the town. I STRONG-ly recommend you go with Kanaya though Sollux” Equius commented quickly to which I nodded.

“Yeah, sounds good” I lisped with a small smile. He nodded before grasping his forehead and turning and walking away, “He didn’t even have that much to drink last night… What a lightweight” I commented, receiving a quick punch to the arm from Kanaya which made me wince before she started giggling at the comment, turning me around and the both of us walking away to the ship. We took our time to take in the town, waving to a few crew members we spotted (including Feferi who, and I quote, was yelling to herself “I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT EQUIUS, OH MY GLUB!” and seemed to be in a bit of a panic. Whoops). My shoes weren’t the ones making the clicking noises as Kanaya, who is almost as tall as me when not wearing them, walked next to me in three inch heels. I sighed when we finally got the Piscion in sight. The Aquarian hadn’t moved which is usually not a good sign, however nothing appeared to have happened overnight, something I was particularly thankful for. The sun was high in the sky and streaming down on the ocean, making the water glisten to the eye, the view of which made me relax.

“Well, there it is, enjoy Sollux” Kanaya said simply, a small giggle in her voice at my misfortune. _Fucking bitch._ I joked in my head. I shook my head at her back as she strutted away from me and I continued on towards the Piscion. It came as no surprise to me, once back on board and looking around the ship deck, that Meenah was asleep. I can’t really make judgement but hey, its not like it’s either of our ACTUAL JOBS to stay up late and make sure no shit is going down near us, that’s Tav’s job and he’s got it for a reason. Because he’s genuinely good at it. I walked down towards Meenah, the strong scent of salt in my nostrils burning slightly, the rushing sound of water up and down the beach getting my heart pounding in my chest. I got within inches of her and got hit with the smell of alcohol. Seems I wasn’t the only guard of the Piscion out drinking last night. I prodded her awake and she literally screamed before bringing her hands up quite close to her face in fists directed towards me.

“Easy captain, I mean you no harm” I joked with her and she relaxed once again.

“Jegus Captor, ya’ got me goin’ for a sec!” She laughed at me, leaning on the wooden stairs before realising she had fallen asleep, “OH CRIMINY!” She shouted and I laughed.

“It’s all under control Meenah, I’ll go take a look to see if anything was damaged overnight” I tell her, a small amount of amusement in my voice, letting her know there probably wasn’t anything to happen last night at all. I moved across the deck and down into the lower part where most people slept unless they were captain or had an important job, then they slept in cabins (like me, Meenah, etc.). I couldn’t see any sign of damage but there were plenty of signs that someone had been down here last night, whether drunk or not I wasn’t sure. At first, I began thinking I was being slightly paranoid at this but, upon reaching the hull-

“MEENAH!” I shout aloud, staring, “YOU’VE GOTTA COME TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!” And then I heard running feet. I didn’t know one light-weight sea-dweller could make a noise similar to a rampaging herd of elephants… Wonder what it’s like for people down here when there are a lot of people upstairs… I don’t want to know.

“SOL?! WHAT IS I-?!” She began shouting before she saw what I was seeing. The Aquarius symbol in amethyst. There was no mistaking it, even if the paint had dripped downward to the floor, “I’ll get the paint to get this painted over Captor, go and find Cronus Ampora… Now” All puns and slight slang terms were gone and her voice was as cold as ice when she said it, so I bolted out of there as fast as I could and out across the pier, the salt particles now burning at my lungs as I sprinted. I skidded to a halt very soon after, spotting someone who was definitely pirate but definitely not our crew, a blonde girl who looked very similar to Roxy.

“EXCUSE ME!” I shout to her, waving, and acting like an idiot. Fortunately it caught her attention and she looked up at me, obviously extremely confused.

“I’m sorry sir, can I help you?” She asked, looking at me as if I had fifteen eyes on my face as I breathed heavily in and out.

“You don’t know where I might find Cronus Ampora do you?” I asked her, taking deep breaths in and out in order to try and steady my breathing.

“The last I saw him he was headed to the Aquarian” She commented calmly, “That was about ten minutes ago, so I would check there” _HOW THE FUCK DID I NOT PASS HIM?!_ I shouted at myself in my head as she said that and I sighed aggressively, knowing I would probably miss him if I had to run all the way back there myself.

“Okay…” I sighed aloud, “THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!” I shouted at her as I ran away, sprinting off down the pier once again, brushing past members of the crew who gave me worried glances and other members of different crews who seemed to take my running as something inspiring apparently since all around me people began running for no fucking reason at all and, being honest, it was kind of pissing me off.

When I finally reached the two ships, it was just in time, because at that exact moment, Cronus came walking out from between them, walking casually, as if he had nothing on his mind (lucky devil that he is…).

“CRONUS AMPORA!” I shouted at him, venomously, but not entirely his fault. I mean sure, I hate his guts, but it’s not necessarily his fault my lungs are burning and my head is spinning and my knees are weak and my arms are heavy. He flicked round to me and relaxed with a smirk on his face.

“Ah, it’s that little asshole from yesterday, Hov-w can I help ya’ tyke?” He asked with a giggle.

“You can’t” I responded bluntly, “But you can help my captain, She’s got a few questions for you” I told him straight and to the point, no matter how out of breath I was.

“Meenah? What the fuck?” He asked, walking up the ramp as I stood almost directly behind him to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere. To be double sure, I took my glasses off in preparation, knowing my psionics may find some use in this situation.

“ALRIGHT MEENAH, I GOT HIM!” I shout once back aboard.

“DOWN HERE SOL” She responded and I gave him a quick shove below deck.

“HEY V-WATCH IT YA’ DYKE!” He shouted back at me and I growled in response. Douchebag he is, I swear to Jegus. I kept him going till we reached the end.

“Sollux, go keep guard of the entrance while me and Cronus have a little talk will ya’?” Meenah commented.

“You two start hate snogging, I’m leaving…” I mutter to which the both got a right shock as the insults came flying at me and I just laughed, sitting at the stairs. Didn’t mean I couldn’t listen in…

“So, care to explain this please Cronus?” Meenah asked, her voice continuously cold.

“I have no explanation, it v-wasn’t me w-vho did it” Cronus responded, dry but nervous.

“Well it must have been a member of yer’ crew bouy, cuz it weren’t one a mine” She told him directly and straight out.

“I told ya, it ain’t one a’ us” Cronus shouted at her. The silence that followed scared me for a bit. The following words to escape Meenah’s mouth were going to change our futures.

“I don’t care Cronus… But know this” A bang signaled that Meenah had definitely, full force, shoved Cronus up against the wood of the ship, probably with a hand on his chest and about two inches away from his face by how quiet her next words were, how difficult it was to here them, “As of this moment, until me and you deem it fit, the crews of the Piscion and the Aquarian are at war…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for no update yesterday, I needed a little break before I stepped headlong into writer's block. Thank you for 24 kudos guys! I really didn't think this would get as much support as it has and I greatly appreciate every single bit of it, so thank you! <3


	10. Eridan: Punch That Crazy Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your ancestor is acting suspicious again... It about time you taught him a lesson or two, Eridan Ampora.

“Eridan, seriously, the fuck?” Cronus had been lecturing me for the past five minutes about what I had done.

“Cro, you’re askin’ me w-when you’re the one w-who w-was obwiously bringin’ up a sensitiwe topic” I commented, blandly, though my eyes were actually watching Sollux who was talking to Rose after sprinting up the pier like a fuckin’ madman. I squinted at him, confused as to what the fuck he was doing.

“Well Eridan, y’know-v, this could be wery bad, I could kick you off” He told me, completely serious.

“But you’re not goin’ to, are ya’?” I smirked, “I’m yer’ dancestor. If ya’ can’t show-w people ya’ can control me, then w-who can ya’ control?” I laughed, frowning slightly but still smiling as I watched Sollux, completely serious, sprint back down the pier and other people randomly running around him, seemingly pissing him off. I laughed slightly at it and the fact my ancestor just let out a gush of air through him mouth. His feet walking away proved my point was correct and that he wasn’t going to kick me off. I sighed, continuing to look out across the pier, though Sollux was gone form view. That’s when I heard the small thumps of feet. I turned around to see no one coming up onto the Aquarian but rather Cronus going up onto the Piscion, quite closely followed by Sollux. I felt extremely tempted to follow them but, I stopped myself, knowing that this was probably something very serious I was not invited to as they slipped down the stairs. I sighed as I watched with concentration. Chances of people coming on board currently were very little so I had something to potentially watch at this point. I heard muttering of words, that were presumably shouted under the ship, muffled by rough wood. I became panicked about what was potentially to come, and what my ancestor may have to say about it. This was not the time… Breaths of such panic fogged in the air. It was crisp, and cold, as if something was hanging over the day. A darkness of sorts, a cold one at that, which would stop at nothing to freeze us in our paths.

“W-what’s goin’ on Cro?” I mutter aloud into the busy chill of the mid-day air, when the brightest star is at it’s peak but does nothing to the freezing temperatures that surround us. I swear this better be a metaphorical running shot across the bow… Placing my fist to my face, I let out a breath to warm it up. Whatever happened, I would have to find out later anyway, my shift wasn’t over for another three hours. Unless someone came along to fill the spot, there’s no way I’m finding out.

“SEE YA’ AT SEA YA’ SON O’ A BISCUIT EATER!” I heard Cronus yell, and as he did so, he came into appearance, hair tousled, teeth gritted, shoulders hunched and his fists balled, as if ready for someone to spring on him. I watched as he stormed off, making minor eye contact with him as he stormed off. But he couldn’t hide from me… I saw those eyes. Fear, was heavy in those ones, and that is not something you want to see within a captain. Soon after, Meenah Peixes, Captain of the Piscion stormed off too, and Sollux Captor, torn boy and someone I would happily class as a friend if not for his position, wandered with a disgusted look on his face further onto the ship, looking out across the ocean from the poop deck. The light seemed to frame him in that moment, as every detail of his face came to my view. That, was a look of distaste, worry, and hatred. Whatever was crossing this troll’s mind was not to be meddled with, and something, I was sure, I would find out very soon.

And soon it was. The three hours I had remaining seemed to last a lifetime but, at the same time, passed by in a jiffy, and Gamee joined me 23 minutes early and I told him all I had seen.

“W-what do you reckon it means Gam?” I asked, wandering to the poop deck of the Aquarian, where me and Gamzee stood, my arms folded and Gamzee with his hands on his hips, his face grave.

“I reckon… it means a lot’s about to change motherfucker. You best be on your toes this time… It’s about to get dangerous as hell on these high waters” Gamzee commented, looking out across the shimmering ocean. It had warmed slightly to the point you still had to wear an extra layer but could not see your breath fog into the air anymore.

“W-which means?” I asked, still curious as to what he meant.

“It means not everyone is gonna survive this battle Eri-bro… If my assumptions are correct, ya’ better be leavin’ early… Sounds like you and your ancestor have some talking to do” Gamzee commented and I nodded at these words, turning around and quickly running off the ship. That whole time as I had told, I had felt the tingling sensation of being watched. I also knew for a fact Sollux Captor was still aboard the Piscion. If he listened in, there wasn’t much to hear. I sprinted, _fucking sprinted_ , through that damned town in hopes of finding my ancestor. I bumped shoulders with a few people, but it was John who finally gave me a direct location.

“Yeah, he’s down at that private spot of land you guys bought with the share you got of the last loot” John smiled. He didn’t know… He was so innocent and he was about to get fucked up, and I knew it… I thanked him anyway and hurried onward. The last time we had ported here, me and Cronus had bought a portion of land so that if any of our people needed to fight or trash something, they could do it without destroying the town, as we had almost gotten reported for such. It was a simple plot of grass which now had a ring in it, a cobble wall no less. And as I arrived, it seemed as if Cronus had not said a word. No one was fighting on the plot but everyone there was from the ship… I was about to cause a ruckus _and I didn’t give two shits_.

“CRO!” I shouted, and almost all attention was on me. Here I was, once again, raging up at my ancestor, for the second time in two days. The place almost dropped into silence as I approached him. He sighed and looked me in the eyes, arms folded in place.

“Yes, Eridan?” He asked, a sound to his voice, almost as if he knew what was about to happen but did not want it to. I’m not surprised… He had probably been hoping that I didn’t come looking for him or, at least left it. But the whole crew was about to know.

“I w-want answ-wers” I tell him, anger making my voice go a little quieter than usual. My ancestor stood about an inch or so higher than me, so I didn’t have to make much effort to maintain direct eye contact.

“About v-what?” He smirked, but his eyes were flickering, so many different bad emotions that I knew this was simply a mask for the crew. It worked for some, but my next sentence brought them back.

“W-why w-were you called onto Meenah. Fuckin’. Peixes. Boat.? And w-what happened?” I asked, extremely disgruntled as Cronus sighed in my face. His fins flicked in an offended way, ruffled in anger, as if saying to me _you had to say it here, didn’t ya’?_

“It seems the Feud betw-veen our ships has reached it’s climax” He said bluntly with a sigh and a smirk. I didn’t want to hear it as me, looking at him, making him intimidated, forced him into the ring, me following soon after, “As of now… The two ships are at war” That was when the cool mask I was wearing wore off-

And I punched him in the face. The impact caught him so off guard he fell to the floor. This was not what me or anyone else wanted by the sounds of the angry shouting surrounding me now.

“WHAT?!”, “WE’RE AT WAR NOW?!”, “SHOW HIM ERIDAN, THIS AIN’T WHAT WE WANT!”, “CLEAVE ‘IM TO THE BRISKET ERI!”. I was pissed, I could see nothing but the surging black of hatred and the cold red of anger as a growl surged out of my throat. Cronus stood up, removing his hand from his face and preparing himself in a battle stance, just as I had. My fingers fiddled slightly with the golden bands that littered my fingers, something that would come in useful at this moment. This wasn’t going to be a murderous battle… Oh no… This was going to be a one on one fist fight forged in anger.

And thus it begun, with one swing from Cronus, a quick dodge from me as a kick to his lower shin bringing him to his back, a good vantage point, but as a pirate I know better. When an opponent is knocked to the floor, unless you want to kill him, allow him to stand, he could have taken an opportunity to kill you. Cronus sprung to his feet once again, a slight cough to him.

“It’s not like a had a choice” He shouted before springing on me, getting a shot to my lip, forcing me to bite down and taste my own precious blood on my tongue. That was going to swell. I grabbed his wrist and punched his head in retaliation, an act of self defense rather than aggression, even if I started this. I managed to escape his hold before going back at him, attempting to gain the upper hand. Cheers were going off all around me. I wasn’t going to be happy enough to let him go until I saw the blood we shared, that purple that coursed through our veins, and the veins of our ancestor, the lord of the seas, Orphaner Dualscar.

Adrenaline rushed as the punches and kicks between us continued. This had been done before, but unlike Cronus, I had updated my tactics, and I always seemed to have something he wasn’t quite expecting that brought him crashing down. My vision was slightly blurry after a particularly lucky blow from Cro had knocked my glasses away. Thankfully though, I had seen a blurry figure pick them up and hold them at the side of the ring for me.

The final blow came from myself as I punched his nose, bang on center, and the blood came gushing out as he spat it from his mouth. My hand stung like a bitch, it felt like punching steel. But this was definitely my win.

“Ya’ can punch me as much as ya’ want Eridan” Cronus commented, his v-w gone from speech a moment. I took shaky breaths as my glasses somehow found themselves in my hand and I shoved them onto my face. It was obvious I had fucked him up bad, meanwhile only my lip and my knuckles were sore at all, “But you and I both know… This can’t be changed… What’s done is done” He said shakily.

“I know-w” I said, standing straight, and looking down at my bleeding ancestor, “I just thought you should know-w I don’t like your decisions… and this will bring us dow-wn… One way, or another” I commented, blandly. I wiped at my lip and turned around. I brought out most of my anger on Cronus but I was still pissed. It was Gamzee who had to know now… As if what I had done was bad… Gamzee could definitely do worse. But at the same time, there was an odd tingly happy feeling in me. But I knew exactly what it was. That was the feeling of being proud and smug… I just fucking beat my ancestor in a fight… And I was fucking ready for whatever it was that life was going to throw at me next. Bring it, the fuck, on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who want to understand a couple of terms I used in this:  
> "Running shot across the bow" = a warning fire to another ship's captain.  
> "Cleave him to the brisket" = to cut across the chest, from one shoulder to the lower abdomen
> 
> Also, sorry my fist fighting sucks, my weapon fighting is better, I swear. xD


	11. Sollux: Recruit Members For Piscion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, there's a storm a brewing on the high seas, and Meenah needs more crew members so Sollux, being one of the most reliable members of the crew, is going out to get them.

Overhearing the fact that Eridan saw what was going on was not a good thing. His friend - Gamzee was it? – seemed pretty concerned about the matter, as was I. Of course I was panicking, I’m just pretty good at showing my panic and sadness and anger most of the time. Of course, there are times where sadness and panic are much more needed but now was not the time so, in order to keep my captain’s sanity safe, I kept anger on my face, as if I was pissed at the captain. Me and Meenah had worked out, before she left, that we might need some more people on board, even if it was only one person, and I was going to be the one who would have to go out and search for them, seeing as I was more of a people’s person than her after all.

But now, after the Ampora stormed off the ship, replaced by his crew mate, I had found myself in a pretty relaxed position on deck, watching out over the ocean, simply wondering where the hell I could find potential pirates. I tried to map out the town in my head but, it wasn’t much use. So, I decided, once I got off this ship, that I would go down the right hand side of the pier, which I had never been down for some unknown reason. I tapped at the deck with my foot, a soft pat-pat-pat noise reiterating off the wooden planks.

The sound of someone coming on board did not go unnoticed by me, it was just obvious by the fact they were not disguised footsteps that they were meant to be on board. But then they became quiet, but not unheard, as they got closer. I grinned as I quickly swung round and my eyes locked with my attacker. I laughed as Feferi let out a scream, covering her face, as if I had something I was going to cut her with.

“It’s alright FF, I ain’t gonna hurt ya’” I laughed aloud as she relaxed once again and gave me a hug in greeting before her face went grim, “What’s up?”

“I presume you heard about the war declaration” She sighed aloud, tucking strands of hair behind her ears.

“Yeah, I was here when it happened after all” I nodded in agreement. We both knew this wasn’t good news.

“I just can’t believe she’s done it… I wish I had the courage to speak to her about it… I just don’t…” We both leaned out onto the edge of the ship, letting the biting wind whip at us as we discussed what was coming, “What do you think Ampora’s gonna do about it?”

“Depends which one your talking about” I muttered quietly. I hadn’t told anyone about what Eridan had done to Cronus, as I presume he hadn’t either. “I presume Cronus will simply go ahead with it, like he has to” I lisped in response.

“And… Eridan?” I turned to her in dismay. She knew Eridan’s first name, presumably from Meenah, and must know he might be a threat to what was about to go down.

“I… I’m not entirely sure about him if I’m being honest” I sighed out quietly, “He punched Cronus for Meenah and me yesterday so I’m thinking that… Maybe he’s not such a big threat” I commented to her.

“He punched his captain?! What, is he cray or somefin?” Feferi asked, looking at my face and I shrugged looking back at her.

“He seemed pretty upset about the fact Cronus was taunting me about Mituna to the point he brought up Mituna’s matesprite” I said, calmly and casually, “Maybe he’s not as much like his ancestor as I thought” When a yell caught us both by surprise and we turned to face the pier. It was Eridan, he looked damn angry about something, but there was this glittery look to him, like he was incredibly proud of something.

“W-we’re at w-war Gamzee!” He shouted when on his deck. Oh, so he does know…

“THE MOTHERFUCK?!” His crewmate shouted at him.

“Beat the shit out of Cro, I think I broke his nose…” Eridan shouted back casually as ‘Gamzee’ re-approached and their voices lowered.

“Why are you here FF?” I suddenly ask, not looking at her, but knowing that she was watching Gamzee and Eridan as well.

“Meenah said she needed someone to cover the ship. You’re going out looking for crew members right?” She asked me and I nodded. That’s when I remembered the mark, and how that’s the whole thing that started this.

“Hey, Feferi, you’re really quiet” I say quietly, “How do you feel about staking some revenge on our enemies over there?”

“How would I do that?” She asked, a small glimmer to her eyes.

“Only if your interested… If Eridan and Gamzee both get off the ship… Go paint the Pisces sign in your blood colour on the inside of their ship, alright?” I smirked. She nodded, “After all, it’s just payback, there’s an Aquarius sign in a shad of purple on our ship anyway” I comment before wandering off, moving down the ship with a presence, like I owned part of this ship and knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into. Only one of those statements is correct…

I hopped off the ship and gave a quick wave goodbye to Feferi which she returned before strutting off down the pier to the right. It wasn’t until I was further up that I realised this was definitely a more civilized part of town and I did not belong here. Ladies in proper dresses, men in full suits or even half suits, talking and doing business deals with one another. Yep, this was not where I was supposed to be at all. I was about to make a quick turn around when I heard a scream and then a shout. I seemed to be the only person to hear as no one else turned to the noise at all. I pushed through the crowds, trying to find the source of the commotion to come across nothing but a short pier. I leaned over the side of said pier and saw nothing… Then I looked down. I was shocked to see two people holding on, as if hiding form something. But it seemed they had been holding on for quite a while as their knuckles were going red. Humans. I could only really see the tops of their heads and their hands but they seemed to be in a bit of panic by the fact the one with black hair on the right was making little noises of discomfort and panic. The blonde on the left then let out another shout.

“HELP!” That one was male. It seemed they hadn’t noticed me yet from where they were but they were definitely stuck, and it was quite a large drop down into the ocean from this position.

“It’s no use Dave! No one can hear us! We fight for ourselves or we’re dead” A female voice said beside him, as I pulled off my glasses and concentrated on them, listening to them both scream. Probably should have given them forewarning, the feeling of psionics on someone who’s never felt it can issue a lot of panic in a person… I would know. Concentrating very hard on not dropping them, I pulled them up onto the pier, placing them down onto the wood with a small thud. The two of them looked up at me as I pushed my glasses back on, a small buzzing still in my ears… That was going to get annoying.

“Can I ask how the hell you ended up in that situation?” I asked them calmly, arms folded across my chest as I looked at them. They looked quite young, but I would have to count it in human years of course, so I’d say they were about six sweeps or “thirteen years”.

“Uh…” The boy began, not able to get any words out of his mouth, it seemed. I frowned down at him and unfolded my arms, putting a hand on my hip.

“Oh, and I want the truth” I added on. This time, it was the girl to speak up, a thin one at that, round glasses covering her eyes to improve her sight. Her black hair was long and tied up into a pony tail out of the way, a blue patch on the side of her shirt. That was a pirate’s technique for fixing up holes… I should know, I had a few pieces of clothing with such a technique used.

“We’re pickpockets” She said quietly and I cocked my eyebrow as she pulled a small amount of sacks from inside the pocket of her baggy trousers, “We needed somewhere to hide, it’snot like we had much choice”

“Yeah, and with our families the way they are, we needed money to survive, and if stealing was how we were going to get it then it had to be done” The boy, scrawny and wiry but tall and muscular at that, was blonde, and wore completely blacked out glasses over his eyes so they were completely invisible. His shirt had a few red stains on it and his trousers were also baggy, and black. He had them held up with nothing but an odd piece of metal hooked to his shirt.

“Your family issues being?” I asked, curious about these two pickpocketing kids.

“I was literally raised by dogs” The girl commented, face straight.

“My guardian works- sorry, I can’t blow his cover, strider oath” He said casually. Oh, so it’s top secret business is it? Strider…

“Your last name Strider?” I asked him, lisping it and wincing slightly.

“Yes? My name is Dave, Dave Strider” He responded with the same questioning tone, and I nodded, looking to the girl for an answer to the same question.

“No, Jade Harley” She said, as if she was trying to hide something, “And you? Since you know basically all our secrets now surely we get to know something about you” Luckily the noises of the crowd were hiding our conversation perfectly.

“Sollux, Sollux Captor” I said, offering a hand for her to shake, which she took, before offering the same to Dave. Jade’s grip was quite light while Dave’s was firm and strongly built, “I could use people like you” I offered before even realizing I had said it.

“What for?” Dave asked, looking me up and down, and I smirked.

“I happen to be the first mate of the best damn Captain these seas have to offer on one of the greatest ships to ever set atread on the seventeen seas, Meenah Peixes, captain of Piscion” I said proudly, knowing there was a spark to my eyes as I spoke, but it seemed to have them extremely intruiged, “I happened to come to this part of town hoping to find some new recruits. We’re about to start fighting a war after all” The two glanced at each other as if this was a moment they had been dreaming of their whole lives, “How well trained are you two in combat?” I asked.

“I know how to use a pistol pretty well” Jade shrugged. That could come in useful as an element of surprise, only Jake knew how to handle a pistol before so that could be incredible having two… I don’t believe the Aquarian has any training in pistol combat.

“I’m trained in swordsmanship” Dave commented calmly. I nodded. We had a few people who used blades but none of them were properly trained in such techniques. Man, these two were a lucky catch.

“Oh yes…” I nodded, “I’m pretty sure she’d be happy with you two. If you’re happy to go about it, I would gladly take you to her and get you sorted out to come on board… Only if you’re interested, I’m not forcing anything” the two exchanged excited glances again and nodded. “Oh, and one more thing” I laughed before going completely serious, “Don’t breathe a word to anyone… The Piscion is already under threat from enemies, we don’t need to be an enemy of the people as well” The two nodded in complete understanding. It seemed I had found us some new crew members.


	12. Eridan: Calm Down With Gamzee... Oh Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well you know how sometimes you make stupid decisions? Yeah, Eridan Ampora just made one, and he's about to meet a feisty sea dweller because of it.

Me and Gamzee’s conversation lasted about half an hour of me and him blowing up at each other in rage of what my ancestor had done. It seems, over the past two days, I have bonded with Gamzee more than I have in the four sweeps I had known him for. I was sweating and I was pissed off.

“Sounds like me and you should take a mother fuckin’ walk” Gamzee commented quietly. I sighed.

“W-what about the Aquarian? Are you not w-worried about it?” I asked him in response, taking a quick glance over to the Piscion where a young lady who very much resembled the captain stood (except this young lady had a sense of fashion).

“Nah, no one would touch it in the ten minutes we’re gone Eri-bro” Gamzee smirked. I sighed. Maybe he was right, I needed to walk and let off steam in the chill of the air. So I nodded and the walk down the pier commenced. Of course, I felt this odd sensation of worry going through my chest. As we walked down the pier we said hello to a few people and a couple of members of the crew asked about my busted lip. I needed to only say my ancestor’s name and they fully understood what had gone down, it wasn’t exactly rare news for me and him to fight each other. A light brush of sea breeze, the presence of another person at my side, made me all the more relaxed. I was finally able to brush Cronus out of my mind, and move on. My lip was pulsing as we moved back, but the air was making it a little bit more soothing this time.

Do you ever get that feeling? That you can just tell something has gone wrong or happened that shouldn’t have? Yeah, that tightening feeling in your chest and the slight acceleration of your heart beat? I was currently going through that…

“Gamzee” I said suddenly.

“Yeah MotherFucker?” He asked in response.

“Something’s up” I deadpanned quietly. A quick glance into his eyes as he nodded at me, confirming he felt it too, had us sprinting full pelt down to the Aquarius. _W-what the hell is w-with all the running I’m doing?!_ I found myself thinking, _This is not at all good, I’m gonna be fuckin’ sick!_ We arrived at the Aquarian with a quick skid to a halt.

Nothing appeared out of order. We scrambled back on board just in case something had happened. Nothing was in sight on the deck as Gamzee went up and I went down, as if we bloody planned that shit, even though we didn’t. Let’s put it this way, when I found it, I started growling.

The Pisces symbol in all of it’s glory, shimmering pink paint freshly painted on glistening in front of me. And beneath it? **Thank your captain ya’ fuckwits…** Whoever had done this was in for it.

“I think we motherfuckin’ all up an’ over reacted, Bro” Gamzee shouted down at me. I coul hear that dopey smile in his words.

“No we didn’t” I said, shakily. I really didn’t want to tell him but what fucking choice did I have? He scrambled down and stood beside me. Gamzee usually has very slow and labored breathing, exactly like the way he walks and talks, just very slow. But when he’s focused… Or when he’s angry – like now for example – those breaths become quick, and uneven, as if he’s forcing himself to hold back. When he’s in a fist fight, it’s brutal, and messy, but he knows what the fuck it is he’s doing and, unless in an even combat with his brother (which is a form of entertainment on board the Aquarian that goes on for _HOURS_ ), he never loses. And I can tell you now, he was pissed. There was only one culprit that came to mind… The fashionista version of Meenah… I stormed away, Gamzee following directly behind me. She didn’t appear to be in sight but that didn’t matter to me, I stormed up onto that ship. She’ll be hiding somewh-

“THE MOTHER OF GLUB DO YA’ THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” Both me and Gamzee turned our heads to a very angry sea dweller girl, trident in hand as if she knew that we could be coming to attack her. We stormed down towards her and she slipped out of sight and further into the ship.

“COME ON GAM!” I shout, jumping down the last part, him following suit, his moves quick and well practiced, as if ever since he got out of the womb he’d been doing this. I was very prepared to start yelling at her but then _IT_ came into view. The fact she had a barrel out, a small cloth draped over said barrel of water and an Aquarius symbol was half scrubbed out.

“I know why you’re here…” She said timidly, arming herself and holding it so it was directed towards us, “I was simply getting revenge for you putting your symbol on our ship for the halibut…” She seemed to adjust her grip, “GET OUT!” She screamed. I put my hands up and Gamzee glanced at me like I was crazy.

“Gam that’s definitely our symbol… She’s not w-wrong” I tell him. He nods, understanding we’ll probably get our ship in more trouble doing this. We back out, hands up, me tripping over myself multiple times, keeping eye contact with the girl. She kept staring at me, lips pursed, “W-we’ll leawe… For now-w…” I tell her, shaking. She lowers her trident slightly, “Gamzee? You’re still on shift right?”

“Yeah?” He asks me, his breathing back to slow and labouring again, though it jumped slightly.

“Could you follow-w our new-w… _Friend’s…_ Example, and get that cleaned up?” I asked him, dragging out friend so long it was unbelievable it still classed as only one word.

“Of course” He said, quickly diverting from the ship and back onto our own. I glanced back down at the girl.

“I know-w you mean w-well for your ship… But I mean ya’ no harm…” I tell her, “Good luck for the next few-w months… The Aquarian w-will hawe you all sunk w-with ease” I warn, eyes thinning. I quickly diverted from the ship. My brother hadn’t asked me to, but I knew he would, so it would be better doing it before he asked… It was time to go out looking for at least one more crew member…

***

I found myself in the busy town square, fulling of bustling trolls and humans alike. I stood out like a sore thumb with the very few riches I wore, mind others stood out in the crowd as well from ships all around, some of which I did not recognize. I sighed a hefty sigh when I accidentally made eye contact with someone who was staring directly at me. A hat on their head and a rather busy mustache on their upper lip, they were dressed in a black cloak and gog-knows what would be underneath it. I nodded at them and attempted to move out the way when, once in a space between two stalls I felt myself being tackled behind them and came face to face with my attacker… or… Eyes to… Strange black glass. I almost screamed when I realized I could potentially be killed by this man. So instead I gave him a punch to the head. At such a point I felt an arm wrap on my arm and I kicked out behind me knocking that person down. But the person who had attacked me in the first place then got the upper hand and knocked me forward and I felt the blade in my back as another pair of hands wrapped around my wrists and a hand forced my head over the side of the bay. How did no one see this?! Was it not obvious I was being _fucking ATTACKED?!_ I was panicking, sweat was dripping at my brow when a slow and sultry voice came to my ear.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t fucking kill you and take your money right now, Orphaner?” He asked. Fuck this shit… He thinks I’m my ancestor… I should not be fucking aroused right now…

“Orphaner?” I laughed nervously, “My good sir, I am afraid you hawe the w-wrong troll” I sniggered, looking down at the ocean. If he pushed me over, I’d survive, I’m a seadweller after all… No real harm to be done.

“Bull shit… Same horns, same fucking stutter, don’t try and trick me you ever loving fucklord” He said, aggressively. Jegus, even Karkat has a nicer mouth than this fuck, and that’s fucking saying something.

“W-wrong troll” I repeated, “My name is Eridan… I’m now-where near as old as that douche bag” The blade retreated from my back as I stood back up and cracked, hands retreating from my wrists. I turned around to get a proper look at my attackers. A hooded male with strange black glasses stood before me, robes of white and black covering almost all inches of him. To his left, a fema- the man I saw earlier? Holding in her arms the black robes, mustache and hat that I had seen the man wearing previously was now a woman with… Rather abundant breasts I shall put it as. Short black hair and round glasses, she looked like a female version of John to say the least… And it creeped me out… Just slightly.

“Might I ask w-who you are?” I said to them.

“Jane Crocker, Disguise master, chef and baker for the… 10 sweeps? I’ve been alive?” She said, as if trying her hardest to speak troll terms for me. That’s cute.

“You don’t need to speak troll terms, I w-work w-with humans” I laughed at her and she relaxed visibly. I turned around to the hoo- never mind he wasn’t hooded anymore. Instead, platinum blonde hair stuck back almost naturally on his head and he simply stared at me, “An’ you good sir?” I smirked, looking him up and down.

“Dirk Strider… The rest of it is classified” He commented. I glanced him up and down quickly once again. This guy was not showing anything whatsoever… Obviously trained in hiding what the hell it is he does.

“W-well Dirk, Jane, I hawe a proposition…” I smirk to them. They both raise their eyebrows. They’re obviously well trained in what they do so they will definitely do the trick, “You w-were to correct to assume me Orphaner… I’m his dancestor, tw-wo steps dow-wn” I confirm to him, “Quite the sharp eye ya’ got” Dirk smirked at my comment. Getting on his good side, brilliant, “I happen to hawe a similar position though… I’m the dancestor and practically the captain of a vessel called the Aquarian” Jane gasped, that’s a bit fuckin’ weird but whatever, “And I w-would be happy to offer ya’ both a job” I smiled at them.

“My boy is on that boat!” I gave her a confused look, “By boy I mean… Well, I can’t quite remember how we’re related, it’s all very confusing really, but his name is John Egbert” I felt my face light up at said news. I bloody knew it.

“John’s a good friend of mine! Has he ewer mentioned w-what a ruddy great douche Cro is? He’s the real captain after all” I gossip to her, as if I had known her for years.

“Oh, all the time! Says he can’t stand him!” She laughed.

“No one can! I of all people w-would know-w” I joke with her, batting off invisible flies off to my right. That’s when Dirk coughed. Not a real cough, one of those really awkward ones where you’re basically trying to get attention.

“I’d happily take up your offer but I’m afraid I have a little brother to look after” Dirk tells me, face completely stoic. Well, props to him for being able to keep that up.

“W-well.. Tell you w-what… I leawe the thought w-with ya’ both. Boat leawes tomorrow at 10:30… If you’re w-willing to grasp the opportunity… Come join us” I smirked before I brushed past him, watching as he didn’t move. I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing making that decision. He seemed dangerous… But he also seemed useful. Ah well… Job done, and, since I haven’t had any in the past 24 plus hours – Time for some shut eye, don’t you think?


	13. Sollux: Board the Piscion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man? Forget that, try, how long does it bloody take for two humans to walk through a town before you can call them a part of this crew? You're Sollux Captor and Dave and Jade sure seem to be taking their sweet time...

This was it, almost ten AM and Jade and Dave were about to be no show. I sighed, rubbing my eyes.

“Thought you said you got a pair, Captor…” Meenah commented quietly. The members of our crew were already on the ship and pacing around or doing the things that we had to do and here I was, hoping on two people who seemed excited yesterday…

“I did… They’re obviously no-show-ers though…” I sighed. I had really trusted in them. Aquarians were starting to appear and climbed onto their boat, as I stood, still waiting, when suddenly.

"HOLD UP!” How had I not noticed Jake was missing? Me and Meenah looked over and that’s when I saw Jade running along just behind him and Dave on their tail.

“I HAD TO SOMEHOW EVADE MY FUCKING BROTHER! SORRY WE’RE LATE SOL!” Dave screamed at me and I just let my hand slap my face as Meenah burst out into tears of laughter.

“OH MAN!” Meenah was holding at her stomach as Jade and Dave got super confused and Jake just smirked at her before making his way onto the ship.

“Jade, Dave, this is Meenah Peixes, Captain of the Piscion” I sighed, completely done with everything that was going on just now.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” Meenah laughed, breathing deeply, “Oh dear god I cannot feel my stomach!” She breathed out once again, even deeper than the last one, how that was even possible, I am not sure.

“Well it’s, uh, n-nice to meet you Meenah, ma’am” Jade stuttered, a small smile on her face. I looked over to Dave who looked like he was sweating in nervousness.

“Nice to meet you too landlubber, let’s get goin’” Meenah laughed at her, escorting her on.

“Just a minute Meenah, I need to talk to Dave about something” I told her, receiving a nod in response as she continued to talk to Jade, and Jade seemed to relax slightly, “Dave” The platinum blonde looked at me directly, still looking unbelievably nervous, “What’s goin’ on?” I asked him.

“I don’t know what your talking about” He said directly to me. I raised one eyebrow and lowered the other.

“One of the things we value on the Piscion is honesty” I commented to him. That seemed to stop him as he sighed and let his eyes flick over to the Aquarian. Does he prefer their points of view or something?

“I fought with my bro last night” He said quietly. I nodded, “It seems he’s been chosen to join the Aquarian…” He sighed. Oh no… Not more family feuds, I get enough of this shit from Roxy… Mind, her and her sister have a small agreement not to fight one another. I smiled at him and patted his arm in support.

“You’re not alone” I led him up onto the ship and watched his eyebrows raise as he saw the Piscion in all of it’s glory, “Matter of fact our Roxy fights with her sister all the time because of it” I confessed to him. The ship was glistening in the sun of the morning and the nip of the air from yesterday was all but memory, the sun beating down like mad, bound to give us all the worst case of sun stroke we could possibly receive. But everyone had a smile on their faces, refreshed and ready to set off. Dave turned to me and gave me a half smirk, as if to say thank you. I took it just the way it was, with a quick nod. I turned around to Meenah and Jake stood next to each other as excitement burned in my chest.

“Whenever your ready cap’n” I told her, a small smile on my face as she nodded to Jake who gave one quick tug on the rope and the knots he had done yesterday came completely lose in his hand. How he does it, I am still unsure. Someone across the other side of the deck pulled up the anchor and, that was us, good as new and ready to set off sailing. I glanced over at the Aquarian and spotted the captain. Jegus, certainly looked like someone had given him what for. He seemed pretty swollen and not one person was giving it a second glance. It didn’t take long to figure out who had done it, seeing as Eridan’s lip was busted. Man, that guy must be able to completely over power his ancestor, that’s fucking ridiculous. I shook my head and turned back to the two newbies, who seemed to be sticking quite close to my side.

“Right then, I guess I’ll be sticking with you guys down in the quarters below when we go to sleep tonight. Only things I have to go over are these” I made eye contact with the two humans, “One, no fighting with the other crew mates unless for entertainment of the other crew mates or if it’s absolutely necessary” I told them, gesturing with my index finger, then adding my middle finger as I said “Number two, if Captain Meenah gives you an order, follow immediately, unless told otherwise, understood?” The two nodded, watching me with a look of concentration on their faces, “Last but not least, do all you can to protect the Piscion, besides those three things, what you do on this ship is entirely up to you, follow the protocol of your position or anything else, just don’t mess with the system” I said, holding all of my fingers but my pinkie and my thumb up. The two humans smiled at the news, which definitely meant they had heard what I said, “Good, lets get you two booked in downstairs” I smirked, walking quickly across the deck as the ship was moving ahead. We slipped down the stairs, the two of them slightly nervous behind me obviously. It was quiet but busy down there, “TAVROS?!” I shouted out across the people. Lots of people turned their heads and gave us a wave as the other two stood looking around at the bunks and canvas hammocks all over the place.

“DOWN THE, UH, BOTTOM SIR!” That was all I needed and the three of us set off to the bottom of the bottom of the boat, basically the furthest back on the boat you could possibly get, where we found Tavros nailing something in place at the bottom.

“Hey Tavros” I smirked, standing next to them as the other two looked down on him curiously.

“Hello Sollux. How can I- Never mind” He smiled at the two humans, “New recruits huh? Right well, uhm, best spot I can recommend for a sleeping hook up, uh, right now would be with my ancestor” He stood up, “Tavros Nitram, Watchman” He said, offering a hand to the two humans who shook it, Jade first and Dave second.

“Jade Harley… Uh, undecided?” She asked me and I laughed at her, nodding.

“Dave Strider, also undecided” He told him, “So where’s your ancestor?” I couldn’t help but think about how quick this guy was in speaking, as if, even though he was a pick pocket and an outsider, he knew everything a person was thinking.

“He’s down, uh,,, down here, I’ll take you to him” Tavros smiled slightly and stood up from his job as he lead our small party. We soon came to a spot where a brown blood with a similar but not identical outlook to Tavros was. Wings trapped to his back with bandages, hair spiked and slightly red, he wore an outlook of someone who was kidnapped, though we did nothing of the sort, “Hey Rufio!”

The male troll turned slowly, as to not knock his horns off anything and smiled at his ancestor, “Hey Tav! Who are the newbies then?” Rufio asked, leaning back on a pile of crates near where he was scrubbing. Something had obviously spilled while we were unloading that he was trying to get out. Normally I’d get a swabbie to take his place currently but he seemed to be quite relaxed doing it. The shirtless fit male was an A.B.S. on our ship. Just a common sailor however he needed to know the rigging, the sails, how to steer the ship and how to apply it to navigation. He knew all there was to know about reading the stars, the winds and all the weathers of the world, as well as the moods of his commanders.

“These are Dave and Jade” I introduce with a smirk.

“Nice to meet you dolls, you’ll find a set of hammocks down there, should be suitable enough” He nodded.

“Oh! Thank you sir!” Jade said with a start, seeming a bit confused as to why he was shirtless, it wasn’t common to see amongst the streets of Alternia.

“What she said” Dave commented, not seeming at all bothered but, hey, behind those weird glasses of his he could be thinking anything, you never really know what’s going on there.

“Anyway” I intervene, “I think we should find you lot something to do just now” I laugh when there was a shout above.

“LET’S GO!” The sounds of ropes on the side of the ship made me forget about the two newbies as I sprinted up to the top deck, heading to the side of the ship to help Jake up as he ran along the side of the ship using the rope of the half pulled up anchor. I grabbed his hand and lifted him up as a few other members of the crew pushed us from shore and received help getting back on as we set sail, Meenah whooping at the front and flashing her middle finger at the Aquarian. I glanced over and made eye contact with one of the females on board, a troll with an eye that contained seven pupils, who’s arms were crossed as she growled. I winked and stuck out a dual pointed tongue at her, finding great joy in her disgust. I giggled before running off down into the bowels of the ship once again. I found Dave and Jade getting a tutorial from Tavros as to how they should fix some parts of the ship that needed fixing or patched and that was them being sent to work for the first time. I leaned against the way up to the stairs, knowing full well today would be a day of watching over the others. That’s when Feferi spoke to me, having quickly scooted downstairs, a worried look on her face.

“Sollux…” I leaned closer to her so she knew I was listening, “Meenah’s done it… They’ve got the black spot” I blinked and turned around as she nodded at me, “All the areas that the Aquarian has claimed have it on them, I saw it just now” I didn’t really know how to feel about it, as much as I hated them currently, this was a small step too quick for me.

“Let me guess, she’s trying to send them to Davy Jones’s Locker?” I asked her, looking at her from side on, glancing between her and the newbies as Dave stuck a nail in his finger and let out a small girly scream while Jade panicked and Tavros laughed at him for not paying attention.

“A majority… She has a plan to kill Cronus Ampora herself on their main resource island…” Feferi muttered, knees tucked up to her chin.

“What’s her first plan?” I asked her.

“She doesn’t have any immediately, thankfully” She responded, watching the newbies with me. She seemed rather upset, as if she knew the members of the Aquarian personally but, I decided not to pry and just leave to do my job with a quick thank you to her.

* * *

 

At the end of the day, as the moons rose over the horizon, I watched from the deck as the colours of the sky changed. I let a warm breath cloud in front of my eyes in the chill of sea night air as I found myself drifting off to sleep, finding comfort in the steady rocking…

* * *

…Where am I? It’s freezing, and this is definitely not the Piscion… I paced angrily around a small cage I was trapped in and, the words that I spoke were in a voice that was not my own, but deeper and much more angry.

“You know you can’t keep me locked up here forever, Orphaner” were the words that escaped me. A few footsteps were heard and I took a couple steps back from the bars as a person appeared, tall and looking as though he had been sea worn his whole life. He bent slightly to me, seeing as I was the smallest bit shorter than him.

“W-well little psionic… W-why don’t you take a caulk w-while ya’ can… I doubt ya’ll be aliwe to hawe such a pleasure soon… Not after the Condesce has had her w-way…” He spoke the same way Eridan did and, for some odd reason, that was slightly intimidating to me because this guy was fucking terrifying… What if Eridan became the same way?

“Never in a million years” He lisped quietly in response, a wrinkled nose on his face mirrored in the ‘Orphaner’’s.

“Wery W-Well, if ya’ w-won’t sleep by choice… Sleep by command…” He stabbed something into my wrist and I let out a blood curdling screech, not able to look at it because of how much pain I was in I was practically paralyzed by it, “Sweet Dreams, Signless Serving Scum…” 

* * *

I woke up with a scream of terror, staring directly ahead of me to see Dave and Tavros right beside me as I tried to calm from a panic attack I had been having in my sleep as I had the nightmare.

“Sollux?” Tavros tried calmly as I ran my teeth over my lower lip and nodded, “Are you okay?”

I shook my head.

“Captor, buddy” I looked at Dave, “What kind of nightmare was it?” Tavros let his eyes flash crazy wide and I realised that Dave wouldn’t know I had frequent nightmares about my ancestor. 

“Don’t worry T, It wasn’t the usual…” I sighed before making eye contact again with Dave’s glasses, “I don’t know… People I don’t know and I place I’m unfamiliar with” I told truthfully as he nodded at my words.

“Well, at the end of the say Captor, it was just a nightmare. We move on” Dave said with a small smile.

“You really know nothing about trolls, uh, do you?” Tavros intervened as both me and Dave stared at him, “We go to sleep to, uh, escape the, uh, hell we call our, uh, lives and we find,,, little to no relief in the dreams and, uh, even less the following day”

It was true, I was worked half to death currently, battling my way through life and dreams… I can’t imagine how it must feel for Tavros who has lived in a literal hell his whole life. But both points are right, though I find no relief in the dreams or my life, I can find some relief in knowing that these people have nothing to do with my life…

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate school for keeping me from writing so I'm quite restricted for time but I'll update when/if I can, thank you for being patient <3
> 
> Also, some terminology for those who want to know:   
> A.B.S. - Stands for Able Bodied Sailor  
> Black Spot - A death threat, usually sent but sometimes added to maps as a reminder  
> Davy Jones's Locker - Saying you wish someone to go to "Dave Jones's Locker" is for you to wish them to die at sea.   
> Take a Caulk - To have a nap on deck as Caulk was used to line the gaps between the planks


	14. Eridan: Bring in the new recruits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow or another, things that seems so right sometimes are just so off. Thankfully, it seems things are going right for Eridan (for once in his life).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *screaming* finally a new chapter up, thank you for your patience and a happy new year to you all! (bit late for that though isn't it? Ah well, whatever) ENJOY!

When I stepped back onto the ship the next morning you practically couldn’t breathe due to the tension in the air. I was surprised to see a lot of the sailors giving me cheery looks before returning to grave looking faces. The busted lip practically glowed on my face as I walked, completely undeterred by the events that had happened to me previously. I had seen Cronus’s face and felt quite proud of the marks that I had left there. I felt a pair of eyes on me once again. I wasn’t surprised, I had heard some commotion going on there earlier. It wasn’t until I heard footsteps behind me that I actually properly moved or functioned the way I was supposed to.

“Eridan?” I flicked around, surprised, to see Rose standing there looking slightly puzzled.

“Do you, uh, need something Rose?” I found myself asking as her hands ran across my face, brushing the busted lip and shaking her head.

“You didn’t put anything on it did you?” I shook my head to the question, not bothering with the fact I knew the wrong tone would come out on my voice if I had answered verbally, “How many times do I need to tell you” She sighed, “It looks pretty swollen… But hey, I like everyone else knows you got one up on Cronus for what he’s done” She smirked, “’A w-worthy sacrifice’, was how you put it the last time something like this happened, wasn’t it?”

“Such a brilliant memory” I chuckled, remembering that at that point it had been my skin around my eye stained black and purple but I had still won that time as well, “And yes, It’s a w-worthy sacrifice to get a minimum rewenge on w-what he’s done” I sighed, slightly sadly, slightly happily, when there was suddenly some murmuring at the front of the ship when a figure walked up to me and Rose.

“Mister Eridan Ampora?” I turned to come face to face with Jane who smirked, John stood grinning right beside her. I felt the grin spread onto my face as well.

“You persuade her John?” I asked him, a slight laugh to my voice as John shrugged his response.

“Not exactly. She was pretty much persuaded, she just needed Dirk’s confirmation-“

“He’s coming by the way, he’ll just be in a few minutes, he was off to go and get some-“ Placing both hands in the air she mimicked quotation marks, “- ‘extra bits and pieces’” She shrugged, indicating she, like the people around her, had no idea what he meant. She stretched out her back a bit.

“W-well I’m glad to see you here Jane. W-welcome to the Aquarian” I smirked, gesturing out with both hands and a soft smile on my face. She stared at my busted lip with confusion on her face, “Dick head captain” I answered without her asking and the face she made seemed to indicate she regretted her decision.

“Don’t panic J” John said as Jane looked at him, folding her arms under her chest as he spoke, “He only does that if you personally start shit with him” Jane and Rose both opened their mouths to say something when a shout rocked across the port.

“LET’S GO!!” We all glanced over to see Meenah looking proud as her ship set off before ours. I rolled my eyes slightly before smirking, seeing as this strange woman was bound to be our enemy for gog knows how long. I glanced along the deck, knowing full well that he would probably come up on deck. And there he was, a massive grin on his face. God Sollux you have literally no shame at all do you, mind your captain isn’t much of a great influence… I found myself thinking as he winked at someone on our ship and then stuck his tongue out. At first the two tips made me double take then I just laughed it off as a thump near to us resonated. Don’t tell me-

“What an asshole! Honestly, what is wroooooooong with that crew!!!!!!!!” Vriska mused as Rose chuckld quietly to herself. I smirked at her, knowing full well she was now taking enjoyment out of Sollux’s actions too.

“Ah, Is Sol gettin’ to you Wris?” I asked, a small smirk on my lip as she made eye contact, a blazing fury in those strange eyes of hers. Not surprised, it was me she was speaking to after all.

“Shut your mouth Ampora” She growled in response, “Who’s ‘Sol’ anyway, and what’s he to us?”

“A possible enemy” I commented quietly. Fuck that, I had gotten a good enough idea of Sollux to realise that he was no enemy to us, not really. He just followed his stated orders, quickly, quietly and without hesitation… Okay maybe he was a possible enemy to us.

“He’s a PISCION!!!!!!!! Of coooooooourse he’s an enemy to us, Gog” She rolled her eyes once again and stormed off.

“Charmer ain’t she?” John joked nudging Jane and the four of us began to snigger. It was true, that while Vriska was deadly and 100% a sea witch in disguise, she was quite hilarious in the fact her insults and her temper didn’t always go in her favour.

“Quite” Rose said quietly. It was then that I noticed the hooded figure coming up the peer.

“That must be Dirk” I mutter to Jane who nodded, folding her arms across her chest and watching as he climbed up onto the deck. How he could wear that get-up and not be spotted by the crew was beyond me but, then again, some of these buffoons were absolutely hopeless. When he did arrive he bowed his head in a curt nod, which I took as an, I’m ready and at your service, “Good morning to you Dirk”

“My brother” Dirk spat out the two words like they were the most vile things to enter his mouth, “He’s been convinced to join the other crew, I almost had his head for it”

“Dave?” Jane asked shocked. I had no idea who this boy was but he must be someone who is, or rather was, important to Dirk, “Who convined him to do that?”

“Some bloke called Sollux Captor, I heard him muttering out the window to that little friend of his, Ruby or whatever her name is, it’s some kind of stone-“

“Jade” Jane corrected for me, “Dave’s told me about her before”

“Who the…?” John and Rose seemed very confused, bombarded by new names the two sat by and watched us as I tired to get the story piece by piece.

“Sollux Captor did ya’ say?” I asked them. So he is enemy material then, and a good one too if he managed to convince the ‘brother’ of a hard man (whatever the fuck a brother is) like the one in front of me (myself making assumptions that their genes are almost identical and, thus, would have a similar brain pattern).

“Right, the other captain’s right hand man” He commented. I nodded. This was going to be a hell of a lot harder than I first thought. Shaking my head I turned from the group a moment and walked up the stairs. Glancing down the deck of the main quarters for head positions like mine and Terezi’s, I noticed the door to Cronus’ office shut. That meant this was my position again.

“Alright then ye Scurwy Dogs,” I shout out across the rigging, my voice slipping naturally into a more stereotypical pirates tongue, as I brought up a topic I was angry about, “I ain't too grog-filled 'bout 'tis predicament me self.” A loud of angry shouts, protest and jeering, a secret undertone of I am probably going to be killed could be heard in some of the shouts, “But I suppose, since we be stuck in it now-w, we battle 'till th' end.” There was silence but nods were sent to me, understanding ones, “All 'o ye, I be needin' ye to be th' best ye can. fer me, 'n fer th' glory 'o th' Aquarian. Understood?” A raucous cheer could be heard down on the ships deck. I nodded, feeling the two new pairs of eyes watching this other side of me step out and unfold like a map to a new land. “FOR THE GLORY OF THE AQUARIAN!” I shout once again. I hear the chorus in return and suddenly, following the shout, we let the anchor be lifted and we push out into open waters, the Piscion just ahead of us on the horizon. And following that, the decking clears and I’m left with the newbies.

“Dirk” He turns and nods, “Do me a fawour yeah?” I nod, “I assume you hawe the eyes of a haw-wk?” I ask, a small smirk on my lips.

“You could say that, why?” He asked.

“Usually our crow-w’s eye, Gamzee, passes out around noon. Mind keepin’ an eye out?” I laughed half-heatedly as a small smirk appeared on the part of his face that I could see and he nodded, climbing up with Gamzee in the crow’s nest. Hope they get along okay…

“Eridan, uh, sir?” I turn back around to Jane who seems a little out of her depth at this point, “What exactly do I do here?” She asks, glancing around.

“You stick w-with me Jane, my job is basic and simple, I help w-who needs helpin’ and w-work directly under the main man ‘imself” I laugh to her as we begin to walk along the deck, “Unfortunately he’s made the stupid decision to go and start a w-war… Idiot” I sigh, crossing my arms and staring down at my feet, “How-wewer it seems our job, since I’ll keep you as a trainee for this, is cleanin’ today. Not surprised if it’ll be just a few-w of us, Low-wer bloods didn’t get to sleep ‘till late last night” I inform her.

“So, do we do something to cheer them on then?” She asks me, looking up at me. Glancing back down I smirk. This girl already has it handled well.

“Mostly, to cheer a pirate along, you shanty” I comment as I get down on my knees, pushing my sleeves up to my elbows and dipping my cloth into the bucket of soapy water a few of our crew were using.

“Okay, what’s a shanty?” She asked. I laugh it off slightly as she follows my example and begins to help wash some of the dirt off the deck.

“Shanties are w-workin’ songs, w-we sing them w-with a rhythm to help us along” I comment before I lift my head back a bit and begin “Aft on the poop-deck, w-walking about, there is the second mate, so sturdy and so stout, w-what he is thinking of, he only know-ws himself, oh, w-we w-wish that he w-would hurry up, and strike, strike the bell”  
By this point those who were working on the deck and, even some of those who were not, had begun to catch on to what was happening and I watched as Jane was mesmerized by the fact suddenly cleaning hands were working harder to the beat and tempo my voice was going at, and all of them joined in as the chorus reached;

“Strike the bell, second mate, let us go below, look away to windward, you can see it's going to blow, look at the glass, you can see that it is fell, we wish that you would hurry up, and strike, strike the bell” You could hear voices ringing on the deck, you could hear them chorus from down below in the sleeping area, could hear Gamzee joining in above, and all the others, on the poop-deck and elsewhere. Everywhere, the voices rang like a chorus of hell-bound angels. It died down as all eyes were back on me as I took on the next verse’s words.

“Dow-wn on the main deck, w-working at the pumps, there is the starboard w-watch, ready for their bunks, ower to w-windw-ward, they see a great sw-well, they're w-wishing that the second mate, w-would strike, strike the bell” This time when I hit it, a cheer erupted, short and loud before the chorus began, scaring Jane poop-less as she attempted to join with the others once the chorus hit once more…

* * *

 

Once the night came, I assigned that Jane go to bed with John and Rose who began to arrange a sleeping accommodation for her. I sat down on the deck, relaxing as the ocean pushed us back and forth, bringing a relaxing queasiness to any land-dweller’s stomach, but not mine. Instead I stared at the place where the noise came from currently. The ocean. We had caught up with the Piscion somehow and now, we were close by. But no noise nor interest came from being there. I didn’t hear the sound of fabric on rope so when I opened my eyes to Gamzee in front of me, I got quite the scare. I placed a hand to my chest as he chuckled and sat in front of me.

“You ain’t in your room, you wantin’ to stay up tonight, Eri-bro?” He asked, a small smirk on his face.

“Just concerned for the rest of the crew” I laughed, “But I shouldn’t be should I, after all, Makara’s work best at night” I chuckle at my own joke and I’m pleased to see he finds it funny too. I’m slightly confused when he reaches a hand into his pocket but, lesser so when, from within it, he pulls out ten dice and two cups.

“Game of Perudo?” He asks, “To pass the time?” I laugh and nod, crossing my legs and sitting across from him. I place the dice into the cup and shake it before slamming the cup on the deck. I glance up and double take when I see Dirk sitting (like a bird about to take off into flight) on the post of the main sail. I shake my head, probably a thing for his sort of people huh?

“Low-west blood goes first, that’s the rules” I comment and he smirks, nodding.

“Three Twos” He murmurs. Just as I am about to consider my next move I hear one of the loudest male screams I have ever heard that WASN’T from me. “What the mother-fuck?” Gamzee asks aloud as both me and him turn to the Piscion. Nothing has moved. I wonder… I shake my head and turn back to the cups.

“Four Twos” I say, finally making my decision.

“Bullshit, Perudo” Gamzee claims, as I chuckle and we pull up the cups. 1 wild, and three 2s lay amongst them. I smirk as I gesture to one of his dice, a smirk on his face as he shook his head, he placed the dice into his pocket, “You’re a lucky slick mother-fucker Eribro, you know that right?” He laughs at me and I nod.

“It runs in my blood it seems” I return. This is the side of Gamzee I like the best, I decide in that moment, when he’s completely in his element of fun, and not caring about what his blood status is or what he’s supposed to act like and completely relaxed. Yes. This is him. The game carries on and, I can tell the both of us are a little uncomfortable with Dirk sitting watching us on the main mast but, he drops down soon enough and instead just watches sitting right by us, joining in friendly banter and making random picks and nips at each other. When Dirk left to go and hopefully “regenerate some kind of power” as he put it, Gamzee waved himself off and went to go and return to the crow’s nest. I stayed on the deck a short while longer, staring out across the ocean at the Piscion. I wondered to myself who on earth had let out that scream and, if it had been Sollux, what if it had something to do with Mituna, or even worse…

What if his screaming had, in some way, something to do with…

“Me” I breathe into the open air. As if anyone would hear.

As if anyone would care.


	15. Sollux: Fight for the Piscion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing new can come from Sollux being abruptly woken, by shouting? Nothing new from that either... 
> 
> Almost being shot in the head upon wake up?   
> That was a little new

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in two days, I am spoiling you aren't I? ;) Consider it an apology gift, and do enjoy

When I woke up in the morning it was, for the second time in a week, I was awoken by Meenah’s yelling. Chunking, awful chunking. I was up and moving as quickly as I could. As I moved quickly upwards, slipping on one of the steps in my path up the stairs, I didn’t even notice – so when the arrow flew past my head and split into the wood a while away from my foot, I almost fell backwards. I turned my head around, and it seemed, without my knowledge, that the first battle of the ocean between the Piscion and the Aquarian had begun. I didn’t know that this battle, upon a later date, would be classed as the battle of the eternal winds, but it seemed that, upon this day, the wind had decided to step into the equation and begin to rock our ships. Arrows were currently being shot and, me being me, I pushed all my concentration into taking the arrows from the deck and, using psionic ability, launching them back at full pelt across the other deck, yells and screams echoing into my ears. I allowed my teeth to grit together and ignore the mass amount of pain I had probably just caused.

“Nice shot Sollux!” I hear Meenah call from the rigging. I smirk up to my captain.

“CREW-V!” Oh god. I turned my head up and around to see Cronus, captain of the other ship that I could not stand for the life of me. But it was the sudden stress of being on the receiving end of a blade, pointed directly at me, that freaked me about the call, “TAKE HIM OUT” I could feel myself paling up. The growl that came out of my throat was sudden, uncontrollable, and disgusted. I walked backwards, feeling smooth fabric suddenly enter my hand. I glance down to see a small bag in my palm and glance with a grin at Feferi.

“Figured you would want those” She smirked, eyes gleaming with a strange mix-up of emotions. I could see, swimming around, an anger but an excitement, a sadness but some kind of ultimate joy.

“My throwing stars?” I asked, laughing slightly, showing no concern to what the other side might possibly be doing to plan an attack towards me.

“Well, it’s betta than you being armed with nothing” She responded, glancing out towards shots being fired towards the ship as our crew began to get angry, extremely riled up. She was right and I acknowledged this with a quick nod. I turn back around just in time to a bullet almost hitting me, I slipped backwards, and heard a crack just behind me.

Glancing round, I could feel the anger coursing through me. A blindfold a shade of a deadly red was what greeted me, a female troll with her black lips in a tight smirk held her face in my direction, almost as if she could see me through that mask… It scared me, no lie. So I made a break for it, running along the decking and beginning my climb up the rigging.

“SOLLUX!” I hear a shout just above me to see Meenah glancing down at me, “YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF SIGHT!” She shouts at me, her voice almost void of emotions. Her eyes were filled with a strange sort of fear I had never seen from her before. Then her words hit me like a tonne of bricks.

“I ain’t losing you too!” Her and Mituna had been close. Is that why she held me so close, kept such a close eye on me? Sure, Meenah could be kind of a shit captain. But I knew she cared… And this was proof, her hair whipping like ropes behind her, eyes continually staring.

“I’M SORRY MEENAH!” I shout back and I see the surprise in her face, “BUT I JUST CAN’T DO THAT”. I kept moving, staring up and keeping moving. When I glanced back down to her, her facial expression was the strangest combination of impressed and completely destroyed I had ever seen. I sent her a sad smirk in response as I glanced out to the other ship. The same woman from before, positioned very near Cronus, was still taking shots at me. But I wasn’t looking for her, not the woman that I had winked at in a sign of ‘fuck you’ who was currently taking charge of arrow shots across our crew. No, I was currently staring at the one guy who could flip this entire thing around, if he made the right move. Eridan Ampora, however, seemed to be planning something, or rather, by the expression on his face, regretting something he had been assigned to do. He made a rather tight knot just as one of the woman’s shots got particularly close to my head, snapping the rope closest to me. I flip back round and continue my ascent. Opening the small bag in my hand I let my psionics take full control of what it was I was doing. And then, all of a sudden, I could hear three of the throwing stars in my bag, of which I could tell I had around fifteen, move quickly beside my head, hovering, waiting for my command. I focused and kept my eyes on the woman who had been shooting, now making an odd attempt to reload her gun. I concentrated and threw.

The blow I made to her body was definitely not fatal, but enough to make her let out a yell of shock and pain. I watched as teal blood leaked from her arm. What I did not expect was for Cronus to grab the gun from her, not offering her help at all, and took a shot at me himself. I was quick enough to realize I had to duck, but not realizing the danger of too many shots to the rigging. I slipped down the rope and, in that moment, looked up. Wrong moment.

The fear in Tavros’s eyes was something I had never wanted to see other than in a moment of rain, storm and possible flooding. No, now it seemed he was much more acknowledge-able of his position, almost being killed. He couldn’t exactly keep his head down, now could he?

“STAY STRONG TAV!” I shouted up and saw him glance down at me, a cocktail of fear and thankfulness brewing in his eyes, in his chocolaty blood, and his careful movements. He nodded, his mouth opening as if to say something, however chances were that he was being prevented from doing so thanks to the fear that was building up inside of him. I nodded back at him and continued me movement down, reaching the deck and about to make a dash towards some form of safety when-

“GO GO GO!” That was Cronus’ voice again. I turned and felt my eyes widen and my throat clog. Ropes wrapped around posts and hooks grappled onto the side of the ship and, very suddenly, there were pirates that were not members of our crew upon the Piscion. I allowed my throwing stars to come to my aid, using my psionics to control them around me and I grasped a cutlass from the decking, most likely thrown, either in death or in escape, both actions justifiable at the shock of this battle. So many people came across to the ship but, the most important was the sudden appearance of Cronus Ampora, cutlass also in hand. Concentrating, it took one correct throw and one of my stars found its way into his arm and the yell he let out, pain pulsing through his arm, was totally worth it. He turned around his plans to obviously attack my captain suddenly changed course and he was targeting me, his cutlass twirling in his hand.

“You think you can beat me, huh? Captor?” He asked, a sly grin masking his busted up face. Damn, whoever beat him up beat him good. But I was about to make it worse.

“You can bet on it” I growl once again in my response to him and, thanks to this, his grin slips off and he makes the first of many aggressive attacks. Quickly using judgement in order to block each blow, I made no attempt to concentrate on anything surrounding us. The sound of metal on metal resonated as I concentrated so much on the two of us fighting it out that my stars naturally fell to the decking. One lucky blow, that was all I needed. It took a sweeping motion, twirling the swords from his hand, as he had attempted to dominate our little one-on-one, and sending it crashing beside us.

“A good captain would never lose to a mustard blood like me” I sneered, showing the cutlass directly to his face and making a quick swipe across it, the yell of pain that escaped him was totally worth it too. His blood, amethyst in colour, dripped down his face, pooling in the deep cut. That was going to scar. If it was this guy? I didn’t really care. He smirked and walked backwards.

“A good first mate would pay attention” He laughed and clutched at his jaw, jumping onto the back of an obviously strong high-blood, who seemed around the same age as him, his lips sewn tightly shut. But that’s not what made me move. No…

A quick movement, a tug, that’s all she needed. That bitch, her seven pupils almost scanning me… Drugged Tavros, having been completely defenseless, knocked out in her clutches.

A small kiss was blown, a returning taunt. That fucking devil woman. I ran as fast as I could but by then, it was too late. My hand crashed into the side of the ship, the other… My fingertips barely brushed her as she made the leap back to her ship, the other members of the crew already across. Cronus seemed pleased that I was distressed, Eridan however… Well, by his wide eyes as he stared and the fact he, among his fellow pirates, looked like a lost puppy in a crowd of angry wild dogs; he must have had no idea this was any part of the plan. He glanced across and our eyes met, a small jump coursed through his muscles quickly. He blinked at me, and glanced back across to Tavros, then back to me. And I did something I hardly ever do.

I yelled.

I let out a yell of rage so loud you could probably hear it from the shore miles and miles away, it certainly brought all attention back to me. I concentrated, I concentrated hard, pushing and pushing myself to the limit as all the remnants of arrows and bullets that had been left upon our ship were suddenly pushed back, my screaming and yelling of utter despair and rage being a rather gorgeous soundtrack to it all. And once it was over, I was glad to see I had shot Cronus in the leg with one of his own bullets, the woman who had been holding Tavros now attempting to pull an arrow out of her arm. I let the tears escape as I was accompanied by both Feferi and Aradia, Rufio stood directly behind me, also angry beyond belief. Aradia clutched to me. We had failed, the wind was still at gale force as it pushed across the ship. Any attempt for Rufio to fly across and save his dancestor would surely fail and end in his death.

“Sollux, it wasn’t your fault” Aradia murmured right beside me, her forehead on my head as she tried to calm me down. It didn’t exactly work, but I appreciated the attempt as I stood up straight. Tavros would need help, and standing around here wouldn’t do anything to get him back.

“Rufio…” Feferi’s mutter was what made me turn around. The sadness that pushed through me almost wrecked me, I had seen that position before. Fatal position… He was curled into a ball upon the deck, chocolate coloured tears leaving beautiful lines across his face. I walked across the strange silence of our deck and sat beside him, just behind those massive horns of his.

“It was my job to keep him safe Sollux, not yours” Rufio sighed, a crack in his voice mid-way through his sentence broke my heart. I had seen this position yes… Mituna used it when he was blaming himself for something bad that had happened on the ship.

“It was all our faults Rufio” I countered, “Surely someone should have noticed, but we didn’t, it was either all of us or none of us, there was nothing we could do” The crew was gathered at this point, all of them silent and listening to us talk. As this was happening I could feel myself formulating a plan of action in my mind, “And this isn’t the end, I can promise you that” I made eye contact with him and he seemed to have a million questions to ask, “but I can’t tell you just yet. I promise, however, that I will” He nodded in response and sat up, both of us sat next to each other as the silence resonated across the deck, across the sea. It was almost as if the whole world knew we had just lost someone we cared for, not to death, but to something much worse.

“ _Oh the times was hard and the wages low, leave her, Johnny, leave her_ ” The shanty Meenah had begun to sing happened to be one of the saddest we had ever come up with, the one we wrote for sad times; when times were hard and the going got tough; when a valued member left, or died; when the ship was in need of repair; and when things like this happened, and we accepted a defeat, for now…

“ _And the grub was bad and the gales did blow, and it's time for us to leave her_ ” I carried on as the rest of the crew began to join, the chorus reaching.

“ _Leave her, Johnny, leave her, oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her, for the voyage is done and the winds do blow, and it's time for us to leave her_ ” The chorus was sad and it was as if you could feel the other ship watching us as we sang it, it made me so sad, so angry… What could I possibly do?

“ _I thought I heard the Old Man say, leave her, Johnny, leave her_ ” Feferi and Aradia continued into the second verse, taking this as their duet verse, “ _You can go ashore and take your pay, and it’s time for us to leave her_ ”

“ _Leave her, Johnny, leave her, oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her, for the voyage is done and the winds do blow…_ ”

 

“ _...and it’s time for us to leave her_ ”


	16. Eridan: Visit the prisoner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course things can be expected... But when something catches you off guard, you have to have a back up plan...
> 
> Unfortunately, Eridan did not

To say I was shocked as to what happened during the battle between the two ships, that is the biggest understatement I have ever written about within my lifetime. When the battle began even, I was shocked, no one had even mentioned this to me. Cronus’ two orders were simple and clear to me when he had ordered me up into his quarters in the morning. Number One, tie up ropes onto the main mast and hook them onto the flag “they will be needed” and Number Two, if possible, though not necessary, take out Sollux Captor. I had already decided within my head as soon as he said it that that second order would not be followed through. And when Vriska took one of those specific ropes I had tied up, I feared for Captor’s life, although it seemed Captor didn’t give a crap as he made extremely risky moves. I had watched the entire battle intensely, mostly working on the sidelines, never making a single risky move. I suppose, as a side affect of me recently beating the crap out of Cronus, I wasn’t exactly trusted by him to go ahead onto the other ship and make my own decisions. I was in such a state of shock I couldn’t even speak when Vriska, in full bitchy bad-guy pirate mode, came swinging back over, a lowblood from the other ship (having been knocked out and swung across) in her arms. I stayed silent, simply staring, unsure of what to say, what to even do. Was this… my fault? I heard footsteps behind me when suddenly there was a voice beside my ear.

“I didn’t even know…” Terezi. I turned to face her, seeing her smelling at the air, “Eridan are we… are we the bad guys?” She asked. I felt even more shocked by her sudden statement, “There’s no justice in kidnapping people…” She trailed off and when the teal began to drip down past her blindfold I knew that this entire moment was fucked up beyond belief. Vriska was grinning evilly as she walked with Cronus, who was chuckling under his breath, to the holding cells below deck. I swallowed thickly.

“I think this makes us the bad guys Ter…” I told her truthfully, coming over a small moment of shock as I felt the tears well up in my eyes as well. Most members of the crew didn’t even think this over, a majority went below the deck straight away. Others were celebrating. I think the only members of the crew that didn’t fit into these majorities were me, Ter, Cro, Vris and Gam who had just come down from the crow’s nest and stood beside us. Cro and Vris were… well, DEFINITELY bad people right now. Gamzee, he was definitely not in an okay state. If there’s something I know about Gam it’s that he has a _very_ unstable think-pan. And now, he was tearing up, and this was smudging his face paint, he didn’t even seem as bothered as he normally is about his face paint. That’s when we heard it.

“ _Oh the times was hard and the wages low, leave her, Johnny, leave her_ ” The three of us, tears slipping down our faces, turned in utter shock towards the other ship, seeing the entire crew crowded around the main mast, the strange and haunting words coming from the lips of Meenah. The three of us began to walk towards the edge of the boat as I was hit with shock. A lisp was weaving into the haunting lyrics.

“ _And the grub was bad and the gales did blow, and it's time for us to leave her_ ” I sat down onto the edge of the ship and just let the words take me away. They were singing a ballad like shanty, and it was obviously for Tavros. But I felt touched. And it was a guilty, hurt touched. I was crying and I wasn’t even supposed to. This was supposed to be something I felt proud of, destroying them, wrecking them to singing a ballad for their friend, but no – I was destroyed right along with them.

“Leave her, Johnny, leave her, oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her, for the voyage is done and the winds do blow, and it's time for us to leave her” The words brushed over the three of us like a gentle breeze across a littered beach, picking up pieces of litter and throwing them back in our faces as we listened and tried, so hard, not to cry, though we had already begun.

“ _I thought I heard the Old Man say, leave her, Johnny, leave her_ , _You can go ashore and take your pay, and it’s time for us to leave her_ ” I sighed and bit down onto my lip. Hard. I could taste my blood. Metallic and yet slightly dirty, like a vegetable… Like an aubergine even, or a grape. And then I couldn’t stop the tears that fell down my face as Gamzee put an arm around my shoulders and buried his eyes into the crook of my neck, tears falling just past my gills and onto my shoulders, Terezi quickly joining our little snuggle.

“Leave her, Johnny, leave her, oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her, for the voyage is done and the winds do blow, and it's time for us to leave her” It was around this time that Cronus and Vriska ascended the stairs to us once again. The three of us simply looked at them. Both of their grins seemed to falter as they walked past until they were left with looks of shock or even pain on their faces. Did it take us, their crew-mates, to help them understand what they just did was so – **_SO_** wrong?

I sighed and sunk down the side of the ship off the top of the edge and down onto the decking. The lisp had hit the air again and my heart strings were being plucked at like I used to pluck at a violin… Long before this all happened, back when life was so simple…

“ _Oh the winds blew foul and the seas ran high, leave her, Johnny, leave her_ ” And my heart jumped, for some unknown reason. I knew for a fact I would be stopping listening in a bit, “ _We shipped ‘em green and none went by, and it’s time for us to leave her_ ” I stood up as that chorus came back to my ears. Vriska and Cronus wouldn’t have left until the prisoner woke up. Woke up surprisingly fast then, for a low blood. Normally it can’t keep the Makara’s knocked out for more than a few seconds but there have been a few lowblood tests where they have been out for at least two hours. What has it been, two minutes? This one’s strong-willed at least.

“Gam” I cut through the music as both Terezi look down at me, “Come with me, I want to go talk to the Piscion…” I say quietly and he nods, Terezi looking like she’s about to comment, “Ter, I want you to go and find Latula…” I sigh aloud, “I have to talk to her about something important” She nodded, a frown above her blindfold so bloody obvious that it might as well have been staring me in the face. I had been putting this off for too long now, it’s best I tell her now, or I’ll end up in Sollux’s position, trying so hard not to literally rip myself to pieces. I pick myself up and walk down to the holding cells. As I walk past I glance into each and see that, luckily, we haven’t used lock up punishment on anyone yet. Mind, no one has disobeyed orders yet, I don’t think. Then I hear it, the last cell. The voice is calm and it is quiet.

“ _And now it’s time to say goodbye, leave her, Johnny, leave her… For the old pierhead’s a-drawing nigh, and it’s time for us to leave her_ ” When me and Gamzee were standing right next to the cell where the singing was coming from we stopped and listened to him. This poor boy, must be blaming himself for what happened, “ _Leave her, Johnny, leave her, oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her, for the voyage is done and the winds do blow and it’s time for us to leave her_ ” Then he stopped, he seemed to have a lack of words when I nodded to Gamzee and walked round the corner. He didn’t look up. But I was already horrified.

He had a cut, already, that would definitely scar over. Right beside his eye, blood the colour of delicious chocolate dripped down his face, and all he did was stare at the floor boards.

“I don’t…” He began to speak before me and Gamzee could, “I don’t, uh, know, why you want ME here… uh… Cronus” Oh, my boots, he can probably see them… Well then, “I can’t, uh, offer you, uh, anything. I’m not that… close to the Captain” He’s nervous, poor thing.

“I don’t know-w w-what Cro w-wants either” I say as I bend down to his level and he looks up and into my eyes, “Hello” I say quietly, smiling at him, “And I’m wery sorry that this happened to you” I state calmly and quietly, “Had I know-wn, I w-wouldn’t hawe helped them, I can assure you” I say quietly as I look directly into his eyes. When he first looked, it had been shock, fear and anger. But now, less fear and the others had been replaced with. Was that curiosity I spied? “Eridan Ampora” I tell him, holding my hand through the bars, “Sorry about this too, w-wish I could let you out but, unfortunately, I can’t”

“Tavros Nitram” He says timidly, the same form of manner he takes my hand with, like he’s terrified. I’m not surprised if he is, he’s on the enemy ship and just had his face slashed at.

“Oh! And this is Gamzee” I state as Gamzee gets down onto Tavros’ level too, a kind smile that was already almost permanent on his face on a regular day now back for the first time today to try and cheer up the brown-blood.

“Nice to meet you motherfucker” He laughed and Tavros seemed to lighten up a bit at Gamzee’s all around cheer. Mind, who didn’t?

“I’ll see w-what I can do to make sure Gamzee’s your guard w-while you’re here. I presume you’d prefer him to Wris?” I laughed.

“On first impression?” He asked with a quick and quiet laugh, “Yes, I much prefer him to the woman that was here before, she was terrifying”

“I don’t blame you, I hate Wris myself, an ex-kismesis actually” I laugh in return as I pull a stool from the side of the corridor over and sit on it as Tavros turns to face us a bit more. Gamzee does the same thing as me and we begin to have a conversation out of him. We try to make sure he’s relaxed but, he seems to have walls up, like he’s scared we’re interrogating him. I don’t blame him… Not one bit.

***

“W-WHAT THE HELL, CRO?!” I storm into Cronus’s office after a twenty minute discussion with Tavros to get him relaxed before leaving him with Gam who brought up the subject of rap and Tavros seemed dead interested so, I think they’re a good fit for each other. I bumped into Terezi who said she was still hunting for her sister but couldn’t find her in the top rooms of the ship so was proceeding bellow deck. So, taking my opportunity, I decided to put my morals to the test.

“Vwhat do you mean “W-What the hell”?” He asked, the small intimidation of me just proving how fake his extra V’s and W’s were. I gritted my teeth.

“You know-w bloody w-well w-what” I yelled, slamming my hands on his desk and looking at him directly in the eyes, feeling myself burn and rage like a deadly fire, “THERE IS A LOW-WBLOOD IN OUR HOLDING CELLS, THAT I HAWE JUST SPOKEN TO” I shouted so loudly I swear the whole ship could probably hear me, “AND I HAD NO IDEA THIS W-WAS HAPPENING. W-WHO’S IDEA W-WAS THIS?! YOURS OR WRIS’?!” I felt my voice slipping, lifting slightly into the octave above as it cracked, tears forming in my eyes again, “W-WHAT IN THE HELL MADE YOU THINK THIS W-WAS SMART?!” I could feel the tears slip and by the sudden look of shock on his face.

“Vriska’s if you must know” He answered so straight, so plain, the fake-ry slipped out of his voice, most likely still too in shock to notice, “And what does it matter to you? Why are you so upset? We did this to save ourselves”

“TO SAWE YOURSELF YOU W-WOULD CALL OFF THIS FIGHT!” I shout in return, “AND YET YOU FAIL TO INFORM EVEN YOUR FIRST MATE TER, W-WHO IS BROKEN TO THE POINT SHE CAN HARDLY STAND UP STRAIGHT FOR A MINUTE W-WITHOUT BREAKING DOW-WN!” I push back from the desk and begin to pace as I continue to shout, “YOU FAIL TO INFORM YOUR FAMILY,” I used myself as backup for my argument pausing and looking him in the eye while I took another breath in, “IF YOU CAN’T EWEN TELL ME W-WHAT YOU’RE DOING, HOW-W DO YOU EXPECT THE REST OF THE CREW-W TO FOLLOW” I yell, “FAT LOAD OF A CAPTAIN YOU ARE W-WHEN I’M DOING YOUR JOB!” I keep going, all of the rage I had kept bottled up since this began and, in the matter of a few days, all of it was coming out, pouring out like a river after a rain of tears. Then I decided to play a card that I knew would hit hard and, hopefully, hit home.

“ _Did Kankri know_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to all of you for your continued support. I'm finally finding spare time and inspiration to write so, hopefully, I can keep this up ;)


	17. Sollux: Talk, will you talk?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course it's not easy, whoever said losing anyone was EASY?! Well Sollux, if not now then when? Please, allow this to be your wake up call... And let's make it grand, shall we?

After the crew had decided it best to carry on and continue with the ship’s maintenance and reparations following the fight, myself, Rufio and Meenah were left alone, to ponder as we sat on the edge of the ship on the port of the deck, staring out across the ocean, as the sun began to rise, such a small glowing object, to set suck a vast landscape of water upon edge, tinging the sky in endless oranges, pinks and tinges of blue hues. We were rocked back and forth, a steady rhythm beneath out feet, like we were singing one of our happy shanties and everything was fine. Why didn’t we just strike back now? I couldn’t help but ponder. I took a step back from the beautiful view and looked out across to the other deck. They had attacked in such early hours, even the sunlight hadn’t been an ally to us. I leant on crossed arms and stared out across to the other deck. The silence was overwhelming and, it only got worse when Meenah and Rufio decided to go and have something to drink in her quarters. No. I didn’t want to go. I felt sick. I felt to blame. And suddenly every overwhelming feeling that had come with Mituna’s death came in smaller waves, wishing I had him here, wishing I could just, y’know, talk to him. But no.

No, gog didn’t want me to have such a privilege as friendship was, that wasn’t allowed, not for people like me. I let out a rather savage sigh and looked down into the water. They’d have that girl in charge of keeping him in there. How te hell do we retaliate to something like this?

“Contemplating?” The voice made me jump as I turned round, eyes wide and shocked out of my mind. I thought I was alone but, for once, the sight of Equius right now was something I needed. I also noticed the fact his gloves were not his usual ones, but definitely the de-strengthening ones that Horrus had put so much time and effort into.

“I guess you could say that” I respond calmly, eyes calm, fixated upon his. I blinked as calmly as I could though, it was easy enough to come to the conclusion that I was struggling to do so. Equius, timidly, laid his hands down upon the area where I was resting my head in the palm of my hands, my elbows beginning to feel slightly irritated, but I ignored them.

“I am sorry, I know that you and the lowblood were… close” He chose his words carefully as always. I just laugh it off and glance at him with a small smile, trying to reassure him and myself that, everything was going to be alright. How can you reassure someone else when you’re struggling to assure yourself? You can’t, that’s the full truth of it, to be frank. So here I was about to attempt saying to him that everything was going to be fine when I couldn’t help but hear myself say _you know that’s a lie, Tavros is probably scared shitless right now_. Instead I let out a steady breath- again, impulsively lying, it was not steady I was shaking like a leaf. I was scared out of my mind, nevermind how Tavros was feeling.

I shouldn’t have thought that now I feel terrible.

“I want to act. Now” were the words I chose to utter instead because they were true and not too triggering.

“What would you even do about something like this?” Equius asked me, seeming genuinely confused, for once in his long life span, lucky ignorant sweaty bastard that he is, god calm down BRAIN! I wanted to punch something, but trying to think up a plan when you’re upset, angry and freezing cold is kind of impossible. “It’s not like we can get him back very simply, he’ll most likely have one of their top guards on him twenty four seven just to ensure he does not escape” I paused and turned to look at him slowly. Now I realized why appreciated Equius so much. He’s a high blood, his brain works differently to mine, Feferi doesn’t understand the things I need to know about highbloods, she’s too concerned about not wanting to act like them, but Equius, he knows how they think, he knows what they’ll have planned.

“What would you do?” I ask in return, bringing my hands up to the sides of my head where my temples were and softly massaging them in an attempt to calm down.

“Well I suppose do nothing if I had the option but, if I must act…” He thought for a moment as I stared into the bare expanse of the ocean, where I couldn’t see the Aquarian… where I could focus for a minute of, maybe longer if I could, “A highblood is naturally angered when something close to them, precious possibly, is taken” Precious item? “So, a jewel, sometimes property damage causes anger but that would not help our case so… murder, or kidnapping?” We don’t know who’s precious to Cronus though do we? No but that’s definitely helpful, thank you for not realizing I was using you Equius you’ve been a grand help.

“Yes I suppose that makes sense” I lisp in return, a small frown on the face to disguise the fact I was jumping for joy at these thoughts. I sigh as I move back to looking back at the deck. This is stupid, why can’t I think up anyth-.

“Yes thank you Ter, if you don’t mind I’we got somethin’ I need to do”

Never mind then. It seems, we do. I felt our entire conversation drop to pointless nothingness as the both of us stared at the enraged amythest-blooded seadweller. He moved quickly, up a flight of stairs. Where he had just come from I had no idea, but he was headed somewhere and he didn’t seem very happy about it. But why pick him off? From the way the crew acted he was their liberator, their savior. He was their only escape from the vile cruelty of their captain… Cronus Ampora, I hated him already and I hardly knew him. Though I knew the feeling was very much mutual. It felt like, for the first time in a long time, my brain was finally ticking, a fully fledged pirate once more, Mituna’s memory no longer holding me back from what I was made out to be all along. Such a long time, as the highbloods put it, denying my calling.

“Oh Eridan Ampora, I am so sorry, but I think that this little game we are about to play shall be rather fun” I whispered quietly, allowing a small smirk to grace my face as I felt Equius looking at me. I glanced around at him and was rather surprised to see my smirk upon his face too.

“You know, this is how I like you best” He commented, folding his arms across his chest and looking out across the opposite deck as one of their two newbies, the girl, began to swab the decks, the only interesting thing really happening right now.

“How so?” I asked him in return, leaning forward as my smirk widened into a grin, the plan fully formulating in my head as I heard footsteps on their way up to the deck we were on.

“You’re back in your game small psiioniic” I glanced around at him, shocked at his choice of words, “using the people around you to the best of your abilities. You act so much like a stereotypical  highblood sometimes it’s rather unnerving… Maybe it’s your obsession with blue” He shrugged and began to walk down as Kanaya brushed past him and I laughed slightly in his wake, continuing to stare at the human girl who suddenly glanced up and made eye contact with me. She looked so deadly afraid, I couldn’t help but give a subtle little wink, just like I had done with the cerulean blooded girl back just out of the ports. She flushed up like a tomato and I laughed a little.

“You have an idea” Ah that was Kanaya for you, she could read anyone like a book, it could be rather unsettling if you weren’t on good terms with her, “And something tells me it’s a good one. It’s probably the smirk on your face, I haven’t seen one so cocky since your ancestor died. Tragic really” She laughed as she leant her back and elbows against the sides of the ship, leaning backwards and catching my eyesight. She really was breath-taking, if you’re into that whole mysterious rainbow-drinking, black lipped… Female, thing.

“Oh yes, for once Equius came in handy” I laughed just as a sound similar to that of a bomb going off with words as the gunpowder exploded down the captain’s corridor. I couldn’t quite make sense of what he… she… they were yelling but it was something well fought and angry by the sounds of things. Then it went quiet. It really was like someone had stepped on a land mine and then was just kind of… forgotten about, “I need to speak to Meenah… It’ll be impossible to free Tavros but, if we play our cards right, it will be quick and easy to break Cronus” I turned from where I was stood and began to quickly walk down the stairs, Kanaya taking my immediate left and standing right behind me. Highbloods, there all the same, far too easy to play your cards right. I took a quick right on the ship and made it into the captain’s corridor. I pushed in the door to Meenah’s office to find her having a casual discussion with Kanaya’s ancestor and Feferi, as well as Rufio just kind of sitting there. Meenah was now staring at me, however I had caught a mere second where she had been staring at the map in front of her.

“Marking where they’re going to be killed are we?” I smirked, kicking the door shut behind me and Kanaya as we entered. And suddenly everyone knew that what happened to Mituna was in the past. I had got it off my chest, Latula was going to know, and that wasn’t so much my responsibility. He would want me to move on, to keep going, keep doing as I wished… I had gotten so accustomed to the sea, enjoyed the nerves too much, the ocean breeze, the same routine everyday. I always convinced myself I hated it… I was lying to myself and everyone around me, I loved this.

Loved the rush of ocean air just being on the boat, the adrenaline of being in a sea battle, everything, down to the last drp of just what was being a pirate and what did it actually mean? I loved the shanties, the late nights. I loved the rocking off the boat and the nights I’d wake up stained in yellow and the awkward clean-ups. I loved I had to experience it with other people, I loved my life. And Mituna… He always told me, that I had to do what I loved most, whatever love it, strange human concept, been around Roxy too long, blegh.

“Something’s changed in you has it?” Rufio commented behind me. I smirked.

“Oh thank Tavros for that, and Equius he can take the benefit of my compliments too!” I laughed aloud and hoped forward, scanning her map. I saw the black dots, specifically on enemy territories. Meenah had a habit of leaving them, we had a lot of enemies and not a lot of allies. Not that it really mattered to be perfectly frank, friends are hard to keep.

“So, what do you have to tell us” I tilted my head upwards. Well, if you like Kanaya you’d have loved her ancestor. All curves and hardly any material, piercings on her lip and ear, black lips and black rimmed eyes, hair always completely naturally nice, it was fucking ridiculous that this family could look so good without any effort and I was stuck with bed-head even when I could afford gel. My hair never did as it was told to do… But I kind of liked it like that. Porrim Maryam – Saucy beast and definitely an okay person to hear what I was about to say.

“Alright… I have a plan” I state clearly and quietly. Meenah’s eyes gleamed, “After all it was a quick deduction to think up that they’d never let us get near Tavros. Which means there’s less security on everyone else” I comment, “Thank Equius for this, after all, all your brains work the same don’t they?” I was specifically making eye contact with Meenah and Feferi. “Tell me Meenah, how would you feel if instead of Tavros they took Feferi” Meenah looked appaled and Feferi looked heartbroken. Sorry sweet cheeks, I’ll explain later.

“What does that have to do with anything?!” Meenah asked, looking so utterly shocked, “Feferi is my dancestor I will do ANYTHING to keep her safe!” She shouted at me. I smirked. Suddenly her look of shock was quickly replaced by confusion.

“Still aren’t connecting the dots are ya?” I laughed at her. I straightened up and cracked my neck in the process, an air of confidence in my head.

“Allow me to rephrase Meenah… Tell me, how would _Cronus_ feel if, instead of Tavros, _we_ took _Eridan_ ”

 

Meenah’s grin within that moment would haunt my dreams for the next few months…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, I cannot wait to get the next chapter to you guys, I'm pretty excited, I don't know about you...


	18. Eridan: Recall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So you have literally no idea what the hell you did to deserve the weight of two crews on your shoulders... Well, you wouldn't because you have literally no idea what that feels like, but Eridan does...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I have to go and get sick during my preliminaries... Sorry if this chapter is crap guys, i feel like crap though hah! Enjoy ;)

I decided not to take my room this night, but I wasn’t merely staying awake. Oh no. I sat right on the stairs down to where the rest of the crew slept and kept my eyes on two specific trolls. Ancestor and dancestor, almost identical and yet no one could see the resemblance in their personalities. On that scale they were totally different. I wonder how he feels…

Karkat had his head curled up into Kankri’s lap and his head was consistently moving. He was definitely having another nightmare. Poor thing. Kankri, on the other hand, looked so done with what was going on. He wasn’t asleep, he just had sad and worn eyes staring at the ground. He’s probably seen me already… But who cares? He wore his mutant blood colour with pride and, to be honest, it was quite admirable. And currently, I suppose he was upset about the injustice towards the low-blooded society. I don’t blame him. Not one bit…

* * *

 

_“Did Kankri know-w?”_

_I had said it almost silently, but I felt myself almost half regret half not regret the words. My ancestor’s fingers wrapped up into my shirt faster than lightning, an element our symbol could be associated with. My head was against the wall and I had let out an anguished yell of pain as it happened. Then, he was the one yelling, louder than me._

_“DON’T YOU DARE, ERIDAN. DON’T YOU EVER USE HIS NAME IN MY PRESENCE AS A WEAPON AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME?!” There was literally no attempt at his stutter anymore, and that meant he was really angry, “WHO ARE YOU?! ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THIS SHIP’S CREW OR NOT?!” He shoved me to the ground and my arms collided with it as my face collided with them. No way they would see my brother getting angry about something like this. Or expecting it._

_“Sorry your little flush crush seems unrequited” I mutter harshly._

_The anger in his eyes._

_I felt the tears in mine as he went from calm and shocked ancestor to, I’m-going-to-murder-you ancestor in a matter of seconds. That’s what it’s like dealing with a bunch of high-bloods for you, and hence why I would **never** marry one. It was like being with a Kismesis partner except he was a LOT more rough and there was no sex and no pleasure to gain from this, just a broken skull or arm probably. I don’t care, this little brown blood was worth it. I don’t know what it was… Maybe it was because, for the first time in my life, I had actually seen a genuine happy Gamzee, not just an I’m-drugged-off-my-tits-and-probably-won’t-remember-what-happy-is-tomorrow Gamzee. If Tavros can make Gamzee feel happy with just his presence then I want them to spend as much time together as possible. There was a lot of pain from Cronus, a lot, but nothing serious, I had no visible damage. Yet. _

_“V-What do you v-want Eridan?” Cronus finally asked me, “Other than to yell at me about decisions that are not yours to make”_

_“I w-want Gamzee to have a shift taking care of the brown blood” I said it calmly, quietly and without hesitation. Being hit didn’t bother me anymore, I just want my friend’s happiness, is that too much to ask._

_“Sure, Makara’s v-work best later hours, he can take those” I sighed and nodded, “now-v get out of my sight Eridan, I need to calm dow-vn now-v, thanks to you” I pushed open the door, almost wanting to cry. That had not gone as expected, we had both exploded, instead of just me exploding. Mind we both got what we wanted, was it so bad? I suppose not… Maybe?_

* * *

 

“Shit” I sighed as quietly as I could, not wanting to stop Kankri from possibly getting some sleep for once in his life. By the fact his head was slightly lolling to one side, he was about to pass out, and hopefully get some rest. But he seemed afraid, like he wasn’t sure about going to sleep. Though, it didn’t take long for him to pass out. I sat there, turning my head round to the rest of the deck. Dirk had been put on shift with Gamzee on Tavros downstairs, something I wasn’t perfectly okay with but if it stopped Cronus from losing his shit again then I was just going to have to put up with it. I wandered up to the next deck and stood staring out behind the track the Aquarian was taking. Maybe this wasn’t how I should be feeling about this whole situation at all… After all, from the colour of my blood, I should be making sure we win this fight and punish our enemies. Since when dd that matter to me? Had Cronus beating me up for mentioning Kankri really taken such a toll on me? I laughed quietly to myself and let myself feel the ocean. Somewhere in these depths was Sollux’s ancestor. SHIT! I completely forgot about going to see Latula! Oh holy carp I’m such a bad friend… Gritting my teeth I continued to look into those depths below me. I wondered to myself how many had drowned there, Cronus had never told me of such an incident taking place on the Aquarian and I had never witnessed one so I suppose we’re drown-victim free. Poor Sollux. I stood up and placed my hands on my hips looking up to the sky, the collection of stars and clear skies beautiful tonight.

“W-wow-w” I found myself breathing aloud, “Gemini…” I murmur to myself.

“A beautiful one really” I blinked at the voice I heard suddenly, I swear it was suddenly like entering one of my worst nightmares. A quick grasp to my stomach and a cloth over my mouth and suddenly started screaming, but no real sound came out. None that would be heard anyway. I attempted grabs, tried so hard to get out, find anyway around this. I kicked and scraped at skin, feeling blood on my fingers and checking it’s colour quickly. I stopped struggling immediately. _Emerald?_ And suddenly I passed out, and, just before my vision left me, I caught sight of a smirk on black lips. 

* * *

 

My eyelids were heavy, and my breathing deep. _What?_ I saw bars, silver and shiny, one of them rusty. I sat up and suddenly remembered the previous night and moved forward, before realizing that my ankles were chained to one of the walls so as quickly as I stood up, I was knocked to the floor again, almost breaking my glasses on the impact I made to the ground again.

“Sounds like our guest is up” I glanced around as I heard two pairs of feet coming towards me. I looked up to see a male human and a female troll. I wiped at my already busted lip and felt my blood on my hand. I sat back on my ankles, my knees keeping most of my weight stable. The female troll was 100% the woman who had stolen me from my ship last night, black lips identical and a green scar now on the side of her face. Good, I got her well. The boy, however, was one I could probably name. If I narrowed it down correctly from what I had heard, this must be Dirk’s younger brother Dave.

“W-what do you w-want?” I asked, growling, my teeth bared and gritted. The female troll countered correctly, growling in return, an instinct of ours. My fins flared out and my eyes widened, making her back up. She turned her head to a strange window they had in the side of the boat just in front of my cell. How odd. The blonde boy bent down to my level and looked me in the eye. At least, I think he was, those odd tainted glasses kind of kept whether or not he was looking me in the eyes hidden to me.

“I’m sorry to inform you I don’t exactly know” Sarcasm was running deeply in his voice. I almost gagged, what a fucking asshole. I blinked at him, my amethyst tinted face at the moment probably currently making him want to run for the hills. I let out another growl as I stared straight at him. “Do you know why you’re here?”

“Unfortunately I don’t sorry, you’ll have to inform me” I mocked him from just a moment ago, “of course I know w-why I’m here, my brother’s a fuckin’ asshole who kidnapped one of your crew-w, I’m guessin’ this is some form of retaliation” I comment and allow myself to appear as I felt, to knock down my walls. My fins dropped, as I stared to the ground and suddenly I felt the change outside of the cell. I glanced up to the two of them to see looks of pity upon their faces. The woman actually looked genuinely upset, “My only question is w-why did you take me and not him?” I asked them. The two glanced at each other and the woman shrugged very exaggeratedly as the boy looked to her.

“That we, uh, genuinely don’t know” The boy responded, looking back at me. Wow, okay then, that’s really not helpful. I sighed at the ground. Sliding backwards, I bumped my back against the cell wall and sighed. I’d probably be kept here a long time, I knew that.

“Is he awake?” A female voice again, but this one I recognized.

“Yes he is Cap’n’” The woman responded and I heard the boy stand up and walk somewhere while footsteps drew closer until they were outside the cell.

“So, Ampora” Her drawl made me feel sick at the moment, probably because Cronus had trained me to hate it, to associate it with being beaten to death, “Where is Tavros?” She asked. I blinked a the wall ahead of me, not giving her the privilege of me looking her in the eye.

“I think you know-w” I commented, “seeing as he’s in the same position as I am” I muttered the last bit and leant so that I could see the roof above me. I kept my eyes away from hers on purpose, “But, if it helps you sleep at night, I hav-ve ensured that Tavros is w-well taken care of as long as he is on the ship” I then glanced across, purposely making my eyes look deadly, “But, should Cronus make the stupid decision of trying to get him OFF the ship somehow-w, I cannot ensure anything… So don’t blame ME if something horrific happens in Cronus’ attempt to return me.” I turned back round, her face of pure shock blissfully remaining in my memory as I continued to stare at the wall, “Now-w, please don’t stick around, I w-would gratefully take that as some form of thanks for sacrificing my life for YOUR crew-w member” I sighed, pulling my knees up to my chest. Two pairs of feet left without a word but another remained a single moment longer.

“Thank you Eridan” I turned my head around in slight shock to see the woman who had kidnapped me, “It’ll put everyone here at ease knowing he’s at least a little bit safe” She smiled, “And I’m sorry that I took you, I was just following my orders” Her face broke into a look of guilt.

“Hey” She looked back up at me, “Don’t w-worry about it alright? I’v-ve been there” I smiled at her, “Do you mind if I at least know-w the name of the w-woman w-who snuck up on me like an expert?” I laughed at her and she smiled, scratching at the back of her neck a little bit.

“My name is Kanaya Maryam” She laughed, “And… uh, thanks again” She turned on her heel and walked away. As for me, I stared out that odd window they had in the side of the ship. How on earth that worked I had no idea, as far as I was aware they couldn’t make glass thick enough to withstand the pressures of water. Well, I knew for a fact I was never going to mention this weakness in the ship to Cronus, that would be a low blow. I watched from there to the oceans below. From here, unlike the gorgeous blue reflective surface we normally saw from the shores and our ships, we saw something even more beautiful here, stripes of light and fish, as well as one sea dweller. I knew that some of the sea dwellers hadn’t bothered with being acquainted with our new daily lives but I had never seen nor met one. How interesting.

“ _W-what shall w-we do w-with a drunken sailor?”_ I began, returning to me the memories of this whole escapades beginnings, “ _W-what shall w-we do w-with a drunken sailor? W-what shall w-we do w-with a drunken sailor? Early in the mornin’…”_


	19. Sollux: Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the world's weight has been passed onto your shoulders, you can feel it's impact. When the world's weight plus one fit enemy is passed onto your shoulders...  
> It's more than IMPACT Sollux feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, who knew that getting kinda sick would leave you in the mood for some "fight-with-yourself-lol" Sollux. Ah Well, enjoy a second chapter today, lucky people. <3

"Okay we need to move the ship, NOW!” Meenah commented as she took the wheel and began to turn the ship. An edge of a land we had discovered not so long ago. We had quickly discovered, in this place, a hiding place. That was something I had distinctly remembered and recalled to Meenah during our plan discussion. It had been a mere ten minutes since we had gotten him on board and, currently, he was being chained from what Dave had reported. The plan was in full succession - so far. It was a hope of mine that this plan would work but… Well unfortunately whenever I seem to believe in hope bad things happen, Aradia calls it my “Doom Complex” whatever the fuck that means. I stayed relaxed, in hope nothing strange would happen that would cause us to be caught. We arrived in the bay strangely quickly, and it seemed as though the world was on our side tonight, that or Meenah’s one tough cookie to face these waves… Or both, could be both, two times a charm.

When at last we pulled in, a few members of crew took this as an opportunity to get off. If I was being honest with myself in the past, I would have followed. But I was being honest with myself now. I declined the offer and let the rest of the crew get off. The ship. I had just begun to relax when I heard the rustling below deck. I looked into the door where the cells were, in hope that – if our little fish prince had attempted to escape I could easily spot him. Well, there was no sign of that, but of course I was worried, so I went down to take a look. I stayed as quiet as I could, from what I knew it was Meenah’s intention to have a human and a female troll he wouldn’t know talk to him first – after the little incident following Cronus and her argument back in the main bay, she was unsure as to whether or not she could trust him, after all, as a captain she needed to mke the best decisions for her crew. I sighed and pushed forward to the last cell, where we had decided would be the best place to keep him. We didn’t want to be cruel, after all it’s not him we’re after, he’s simply our acting live bait for a bigger fish… Literally. When I arrive I look in at his sleeping form.

It seems he’s having a nightmare, he’s squirming. So that’s what’s making the rustling noise… His eyes are squeezed tightly shut behind pristine glasses, his neat eyebrows furrowed. His mouth was open ever so slightly and he was letting out little fear-filled pants. His fists were clenched tightly and he didn’t look relaxed at all… _Urgh, I shouldn’t do this_ … I found myself thinking. Oh well, decision made. Concentrating softly I began to use a form of psiioniics I hadn’t used since the year before Mituna died, when he went through a phase of really bad nightmares. It was dull, a soft buzzing – Mituna had explained – that’s what it sounds like, and it’s strangely relaxing. I smiled softly at the memory and opened my eyes to watch what his reaction would be.

Just the same as Mituna’s was…

His edges of his mouth curved up, he unraveled slightly and his hands relaxed. All in all, he looked so much more peaceful. It was cute really… I felt my own eyes widen as I thought that and quickly stood up. Why is my face burning up? Am I just embarrassed? Or… maybe…?

NO! I panic quickly and turn my heel on the situation. I’m not going to make his life hell but I’m not supposed to really be _friends at ALL_ with him. This is so wrong. I swallowed thickly, letting myself ponder why the hell I could be flushing like a maniac. Is it because I helped him?? Is it because he reminds me of Mituna and that makes me feel ashamed?? Or is it really the only other option I have left…

I decided to leave it up to the feeling of being ashamed. I couldn’t let it be the other thing – Ever since Mit died I blocked my heart out to everyone, no one was really allowed to know what I was thinking, not what I was really thinking. There were those that knew me well (Like Tavros, Equius, Feferi, Meenah, Aradia and Kanaya) that could read me like an open book anyway. Those where the only people I let in anymore, I could not add another to the mix or the scale would unbalance and I’d break. I let my hands slide into my already messy hair. I could not, WOULD NOT let this happen… Not now at least. This war has to end before I do anything stupid. _Besides, it’s just a silly flush, chances are it’ll never happen again, I’m over reacting._ I found myself thinking. I rolled my eyes. Problems with having a brain that works two times as fast as anyone else's, huh?

Walking up to the boot deck, I stared out at the land. It was nice to be on the ship alone and just enjoy the beautiful view of the land behind it. The trees were gorgeous and leaning, and everything around me was perfect… Without me in it. Aradia and Kanaya were happily babbling with each other on the sea front; Equius was punching something that… probably didn’t need punching; Meenah was climbing for some ‘coconuts’ by the looks of things. And Feferi? She was having a conversation in a language I didn’t recognize – to a sea dweller in the ocean, a male sea dweller, who seemed excited to see her. I wouldn’t be surprised, she’s basically a princess. Seems the sea dweller had never seen land clothing before and Feferi was having fun explaining what her shirt was. I laughed slightly at what I was seeing. It was cute too – but this time, as I thought about that, I felt absolutely no colour come to my cheeks. It must have been shame… Mustn’t it?

“Hey Sollux” I turned my head around to see Jake coming on-board.

“Hi Jake, long time no speak” I laughed, looking at him - into those strangely deep green eyes, before turning back to look back at the fun being had in the small bay, where no one could see us… Where we were safe for now.

“Looks like they’re actually kinda relaxed right now, huh?” Jake sighed happily, “I wish I could be” I turned - with a look of confusion - to him, “I can’t help but feel really nervous, like something’s about to happen. My heart’s beating in my throat, and it won’t stop. Do you… ever get that?” I wish I could tell him I do, I really wish I could tell him that my heart leaped straight into my throat when that last naval battle began, that I could go into detail of the countless times I have felt my blood pusher in the wrong place. But I can’t go into detail.

“Can’t say I haven’t” I told him truthfully instead, keeping up my persona that I was really REALLY okay, and not dying over the fact I JUST FLUSHED RANDOMLY AT OUR PRISONER WHAT THE F- Over reacting again, I’m FINE!

“It’s nasty” Jake said sadly. I nodded in agreement. It felt nice, to be honest, once that conversation died, to just stand together, watching the others in a comfortable silence.  
“Jake?” I said out of nowhere, at last, when others began going to their beds, ignoring us staring across that beautiful bay.

“Yeah Sollux?” He asked me in return, watching the water reflect the moon’s light, our faces lighting up in that mysterious white.

“Is it crazy to regret something you did… When you felt you had no other choice?” I asked him. I think he was slightly taken aback by my question but he smiled and answered anyway.

“Not really, I think it’s perfectly normal” He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled, wishing me a quick goodnight. It seemed the whole crew was asleep, even Fef (who had taken the opportunity to sleep outside, relaxing on the rock, a small smile on her sleeping face). I looked up into the skies and then just spoke, really quietly.

“I don’t know if you can hear me Tav… But it’s gonna be okay buddy. I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you, as soon as I get the chance I’m gonna come and get you” I said it so quietly into the open air, I doubt he would have heard anything unless he was right next to me. I turned around and sat down on the deck, letting my eyes drift shut as I frowned, “I’m sorry Eridan, I don’t think I wanted to do this to you… I know I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, it was really our only option… I’m… I’m sorry” I let my face stain itself yellow as I slowly drifted off to what I knew would be uneven and nightmarish sleep.

* * *

When I awoke, I wasn’t first up. Everyone was wandering around on deck, but had left me. It seemed something else had their attentions. Feferi looked shocked, almost on the verge of tears. I slowly stood up, my sudden movement not stilling any of their shocks.

“AND WHO’S FAULT DO YOU THINK IT IS?!”

“WHY DID YOU NEVER LISTEN TO HIM?!”

Sobbing, and pain, oh god, so much pain. Cries of agony came from the Aquarian. A majority of the crew was cheering. We had accomplished what we set out to do anyway, somehow bring a breakdown in Cronus or the crew. Why did I feel so empty inside?

“What have I-I done?” I stuttered on the I as suddenly Feferi turned to me. I felt the tears starting again. Yes Mituna would have wanted me to get on and live my life, but not like this… Never like this… I pushed the heels of my palms to my eyes as my sobs rocked my body, “I don’t want this” my lisp became so much more prominent as, suddenly it wasn’t just Feferi but Aradia too, by my side and pulling me into a hug. And it wasn’t just me crying. They were ripping their hearts out too, but not as much as me. It felt like all my nerves and my sensitivity had been put through a paper shredder before someone tried to put the pieces of it back together and into my body. And it just hadn’t worked…

“It’s okay Sollux, I’m pretty shore we would have done the same” Feferi sighed, only using on fish pun as an attempt to cheer me up. I nodded, but the tears didn’t stop. It seemed my sadness had some kind of affect on the ship, to all but Meenah who had disappeared, most likely to scream out in victory over her map in her quarters. Meanwhile, cheers had turned to shock; Those who were already in shock had taken off hats, placed hands over their hearts… It felt like – as a crew – all of us were at leas slightly broken. This is the side to piracy no one ever gets to see, my favorite bit. I remember what happened when Mituna died, how all of us came together to support… Well, me. I felt a similar sort of breakdown, it was like experiencing the heartbreak of losing family all over again.

But I hadn’t lost any member of my family… Oh no.

I had lost myself.

My previous self was slipping away from me, and this new me that had arrived the minute Mituna died, that was the real me. There was no point in trying to be anyone else. And for some unknown reason…?

I knew, _right then and there_ …

Something bad was about to happen to Tavros.

 

And it was _all… my… fault…_


	20. Eridan: Panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh...  
> My...  
> Gog...  
> What is this tightening feeling in my chest...?  
> Why do I feel like something terrible is going to happen soon?

A scream, that’s how I woke up. Another nightmare? Wait- no. no. NO! This is a LIVING nightmare! Where am I again?!

I sat up, bolting upright and glancing around me, my breathing not being able to steady out, a panic of some unknown form pulsing through my veins. That was a lie, I was in too much stress to even recognize that I was slipping into a panic attack.

My mind was slipping into a monitor mode, detecting my discomfort and, right now, it was making it worse.

My chest tightened up and, as it did so, I started taking deep breaths, trying so hard to calm down.

Why is this making things worse?!

Why can’t I breathe?!!

I tightened up my eyes and swung off my glasses as I did so, trying to block out the world, but it was so hard to focus when my head was getting lighter, my vision almost fading.

Is this what death feels like?

It wasn’t the first time I had thought that, I knew it wasn’t… When had I thought that before?! When?! When… when…

* * *

_“Come on Eri, breathe with me, it’s okay”_

_Tight, it’s so tight, I can’t breathe, I can hardly see, my vision is getting blurry again. I can feel tears, but why are they just coming out of their own accord?!_

_“Cro, p-please. Help, I can’t…” I was trying so hard to convey to him that I could hardly breathe but the words were restricted, my throat felt clogged. I could just barely feel what was going on, my head was pounding like a big bass drum and I could not stop crying- that was not helping me. Please, Cro, let me see you!_

_“Eri, it’s okay, your ancestors got you, hey!” I looked over at him and as my eyes made contact with his I felt my breathing get easier, my brain attempting not to focus on the overwhelming pain throbbing through my head, “I promise I got you, okay… He ain’t going to hurt us no more, a’right?” I felt myself nod, “I need you to breathe for me Eri, I know it’s hard but I promise it’s gonna be worth it, okay?” I nod again, but the pain is so real I struggle to believe him. Hidden away from the rest of society in a backstreet that’s supposed to ‘belong to Lowbloods’ – thought I don’t see why that’s a thing. “In buddy” I breathe in as he says and it hurts but I can feel the adrenaline slowing, “Hold” I count in my head as he tells me that. One. Two. Three, “Let it out” I release it._

_We continue this practice a few times and by that time I’m calm again and just relaxing against my ancestor._

_“I’m sorry Cro… I’m such a fuck up” I muttered in that moment. A hand ran through my hair as I looked up at me ancestor. He was smiling at me. Was this some acknowledgement that I was indeed a fuck up? And that he’ll just leave me here?_

_“Oh Eridan” His soft smile, only the human definition of ‘family’ could offer to me, “Don’t you ever go thinking that, okay?” Warm, that’s what he was right now, “You’re my dancestor, you’ll always have meanin’. And don’t think of yourself as a fuck up Eri, it hurts me to think you think of yourself like that” I glance back up at him again behind my glasses to see a troll who genuinely gave a damn about my life, unlike anyone else who had come and gone in it since, “Just because your aggravation sponge causes you pain unlike anyone else I know don’t mean shit… You ain’t a fuck up – you just ain’t perfect – And nor is anyone else, so don’t you ever go thinking you’ve found someone who could change my view on that”_

_Laughter… First time in a long time I’ve seen and felt that…_

* * *

Calm… My breathing must have followed with my brothers voice from sweeps ago. I rested my head again. That was so long ago -  things have changed so much, the ocean hardened the both of us. I could hear muffled yelling from where I was, and honestly it was slightly scary. It sounded like – Karkat?

God I miss the Vantases now, they brought so much life to the ship – as did the Makaras. Those two families were our most interesting ones, that gave a spark to the ship it hadn’t had previously. Makara’s were family friends, the Vantases… were a different story.

If there’s one thing that Kingshill port had to offer that wasn’t piracy or your demise, it was slaves. Matter of fact, it was a rather common trade about three sweeps ago, one that Cronus, I and the rest of the – rather dismal – Aquarian crew all hated. They dealt in all forms of red blood types, and Karkat and Kankri – well, they were a rare case.

* * *

_“Here they go again” The scoff from my ancestor as I was polishing up part of the deck made me curious. I stood up and joined him, standing shoulder to shoulder with him and also letting out a scoff, “Can’t stand these pigs – always keep an eye out though, might be interesting folk to take out and save” He commented. When we had these private conversations he dropped the stupid stutter he had adopted from me – thank gog._

_“QUITE THE LOAD WE HAVE HERE! DISGUSTING FREAKS AND WENCHES!”_

_“W-what a nasty term” I commented, allowing the disgust I felt to show on my face. I glance round at Cronus and he nods. I drop my polishing cloth and smack my hands together, dust coming off of them. We wandered down together, side by side, highbloods lower than us on the caste moving out of the way as we stood and watched. Piracy gave you gold to boot if you could find it – luckily we could and currently the merchant life was one that was working well for us. They had gone through many, none of interest – they were all giving up by the looks of things and the Aquarian needed fighters, not quitters._

_That’s when they were brought up – and by god did they attract attention._

_They did it on purpose, me and Cronus knew it. Shoved the elder of the two onto his face so he would scratch it and bleed. Precious mutant blood – hardly ever seen by our eyes. The boy immediately freaked out, he seemed panicked – but almost hopeful. The younger was growling like and animal. Me and Cronus both raised our hands to start us bidding for them – and it was an easy win, most want caved in boys, but not us. We payed up and, as soon as we got to them, Cronus left them to me._

_“PLEASE LET ME GO!” Ancient alternian words. I glanced up to see the younger of the two was crying, the elder knelt in front of him, protecting the younger._

_“Please, I beg of you, do not do this… We deserve our rights, we do not wish to serve in your plantation – if that is where you are taking us…”_

_“Sorry to say but it’s considered rude to assume w-where I’m from” I commented. The elder of the two let his eyes widen when I spoke in fluent tongue of the ancient language – an old friend had taught it to me, though I cannot remember his name for the life of me, “And don’t w-worry, you ain’t w-working on any plantation, how-w gross…” I sighed as I undid their chains, “Nah, w-we’re gettin’ you boys out of this stupid slave trade, on one condition” The shock on their faces would have been perfect on a portrait – but not just now, now I needed their trust… “Come join us on the Aquarian, w-we could use a few-w new-w crew-w members”_

_“Aquarian? What the fuck is that?” The younger asked as the elder looked horrified and turned back at him. I just laughed as I started heading for the door of the cell they were bonded into._

_“It’s a pirate ship – more like a merchant one just now but, mostly w-we’re building up. Oh, and by the w-way” I turned around when I reached the door, “The name is Eridan Ampora, dancestor of the captain of the Aquarian. I hope you come, by the w-way! Cro w-won’t be best pleased if ya’ don’t!” I laughed and turned back to the door walking along. It wasn’t long until I heard the scurrying feet and I knew the charm I had worked on for so many years to get away from my old cowering fearful self had worked once again…_

* * *

I was laughing on the outside as well, but I was crying. Are they all getting mad because of _my_ disappearance? I smiled at that thought. It was nice to know, that all of my crew-mates loved my presence and were currently fighting with Cronus about his stupid decisions. I wish he would hurry up and learn that things were better the way they used to be. Unfortunately however, I doubt he will ever learn, it’s just the way he is. I sighed once again and smacked my head against the wall behind me.

OW!

That fucking hurt more than I thought it would.

I rubbed at the back of my head where I hit it and winced. Do they have some kind of anti-highblood-existence thing set up on this ship? This is getting ridiculous.

 

“What have I-I done?”

The voice rang clear down the hall, maybe because I slightly recognized it. I couldn’t identify it to a person though, I was too confused, my think-pan sore from knocking my head, the panic attack and thinking back on the past. Whoever’s plan this was, they probably blame themselves for what’s going on on the ship currently. I don’t blame them in the slightest.

Cronus started this shit and he’s going to be the one to make some horrific frightful move I can feel it! But what is it going to be?

“Hey, prisoner” A plate, with some kind of sloppy white lumpy stuff and brown dots in it, “What?” I glanced up and made a double take when I saw the Strider from yesterday, “Have you never seen porridge before?” I shook my head in response and he was the one to double take this time, “Well, try it, it’s good”

I picked up the plate and lowered the spoon he had given me into the mixture. It was weird and gloopy.

“It kind of looks like grub curry, just a different colour” I commented. The boy looked confused and, at the same time, slightly disturbed. I don’t blame him there.

“The hell is grub curry?” He asked with a laugh, sitting down next to me, “The brown stuff in it is chocolate, it’s sweet, something Capt’n Meenah says they learned from native people not far from here” Intriguing. I put the spoonful into my mouth. I didn’t even know until that moment how starved I was. I let out an awkwardly loud moan as I dug into the plateful and heard the Strider next to me start laughing at me.

“You don’t know-w how-w long it has been since I last ate” I commented when I managed to pause. The boy’s smile suddenly dropped as I said that. He seemed to be scanning my body – probably checking how thin I am, I don’t blame him, it’s getting kind of ridiculous.

“Well I’m glad to help – the crew is feeling kind of bad that you’re down here, the entire Aquarian is going nuts at their captain about your disappearance” I nodded at the boys words.

“I’m not all that surprised the Aquarian’s lost it’s nut” I sighed once more and leaned my head backwards shutting my eyes, “Don’t feel too bad though, Cronus is to blame for this predicament, even if I did become part of your plans…”

“Thank you” I nodded at his words, not knowing or understanding why the hell he was thanking me but acknowledging it anyway, something I said probably meant a lot to him – though I’m not sure what, “I better go anyway, see ya later fish boy” I turned to see his smirk at me before turning and leaving.

 

F…

Fucking really Strider?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for not uploading earlier, weekend got in the way of me doing anything towards this story and, I'm not going to lie, that kind of agitated me, this story is becoming a way of relaxing and becoming more skilled in my writing techniques. I'm just glad to see you guys enjoy it!  
> Stay awesome readers, I love you x


	21. Sollux: Visit Eridan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it won't be as awkward down there as you think, Sol...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO HOO! UPDATE! YEAH! xD  
> Glad to see you guys still enjoy these updates. I'm not going to say what or why but if all goes according to plan then, chapter 24 is going to be good~   
> Just being a tease, sit tight folks! xD  
> And Enjoy some healthy fluffy stuff and awkward Sollux feeling tension, what a cutie ~

When Aradia and Feferi finally decided I was stable enough to be left alone, they moved on to get to work, trying to distract themselves. I couldn’t do it, I knew from experience that guilt was not something that was easy for my mind to fight; instead I often find myself completely and utterly consumed within it. Slumping onto the deck I stared down the deck, at everyone working, like nothing was wrong – like none of us were hurting. I knew they were. They, like me, were feeling like they should be punished for what was going on – like there was a mistake made. I heard footsteps when I glanced up and saw the Strider boy walking out of the cell hold. Huh? He had a soft smile on his face and seemed rather calm. His face turned towards mine and he cocked his head towards the cell hold. What?

I stood up, slightly shaky, and wandered towards the boy who simply smiled softly at me. How he could keep that remaining while looking at a face like mine which was surely among the most grave he had ever seen… That I suppose I will never learn the secret of.

“He’s awake” The blonde said quietly, a slight southern accent mixing with the words, a soft smile upon his lips.

“How’s he doing?” I asked, guilt taking over my brain slightly as I put my sudden need to care for him and his crew before my position as first-mate of the Piscion, a position I quickly fixed with a shake of my head.

“He’s alright, seems a bit shaken up but he’ll be alright – he’s a right tough one that one. Seems like he’s knocked out cold but then he comes back kickin’, it’s insane” He crossed his arms across his chest and sighed, “I think it’s best if you go and talk to him – better than you living in fear about it, y’know?” I nodded, knowing that he was right, but the fear in my gut was telling me otherwise. Like a breath of memories, a sudden gust hit me, as if reminding me to stay confident. I let out a breath of air and patted his arm in thanks before walking down. I hated these quarters, quite a bit actually. The wood was nice and the cells were well built but, compared with the atmosphere of the rest of the ship… It just somehow put in a nice and _friendly_ reminder that, I am a pirate – not a merchant or anything else, I plunder for the things I want, take hostages and make them sleep on the floor… I’m a monster, aren’t I?

I continued to walk down to the end of the hall. When I reached it, I did not see the eyes behind those thick framed glasses open, but closed and relaxed. It made me feel relaxed knowing he wasn’t hostile at the moment, but rather docile. I stood with my arms crossed in front of the cell and watched the boy’s breathing chest. It was just what to say – I was struggling.

“Feelin’ alright kido?” I chuckle at last. The boy’s eyes snap open and he glanced up at me, eyes of slight purple tinge making me feel even more guilty. I bet it showed in my face. He shrugged slightly and offered me a small smile, but his eyebrows furrowed.

“I hawen’t seen you since I got on here…” He said at last, “Thought w-with us bein’ all chummy chummy you’d come runnin’” He joked, a smile on his lips as he sent a wink in my direction. I laughed and brushed it off with a whisk of my hand in the air.

“Yeah well, busy trying to keep a majority of the crew calm – they’re all blaming themselves for what’s going on and, frankly, I don’t see why” I sighed out, slumping against the thick glass on the side of the ship. It’s so off, I’ve never understood how this window works… Something about a favor Meenah did for a sea dweller or something that lead to them getting us a window that wouldn’t break under water. I think it’s bullshit and there’s some other story behind it but, I decided never to push it; the Pexies sisters were scary when they wanted to be.

“I’m w-with you on that one” He laughed. I glanced up, and the features of his face looked completely relaxed. He had a soft smile upon his face slumped shoulders and a slightly slouched position.

“You surely can’t be comfortable like that” I sighed, looking at his feet. The chains were as stretched out as they could, and it seemed that the cuffs were digging into his ankles, the presence of purple blood very obvious. He stuttered a moment, gasping and pulling them tighter into his body, as if frightened by it. Odd, wasn’t that supposed to be a low blood defense tactic?

“I- I’m not really, but I ain’t got an aw-wful lot a’ choice!” He commented, keeping his face turned away from mine. Cute. I sighed.

“Promise you won’t attempt a breakout?” I asked him with a shrug and a smile. He gave me a questioning look before nodding. I leaned forward and righted my center of gravity before I walked over, pulling a set of keys out of my pocket. I slipped one into the hole that was designed for the cells of the block and twisted left, hearing a chunk. Please don’t break your promise, please don’t hurt me because we chained you up here… Oh gog this is all my fault. I shut the door behind me and walked over to him. He leaned backwards, blinking – unsure, “I’m not going to hurt you if you won’t hurt me… Count that as vice versa too.” I promised him, crossing across my chest as a sign I was telling the complete truth. He nodded and let go of his ankles, the blood on his fingers prominent as he stared at them. Selecting another key from the bunch, I undid the shackles and took a look at his ankles. The cuts must have been quite deep, there was still more of that beautiful colour dripping down his feet. I grabbed at the shirt I was wearing, I hated this one anyway… Fluently and quite loudly as well, I tore the arm off of it. Sure, it would attract attention when I got back up but since when did I really care about that? Ripping it a bit more into sufficient enough strips to get the job done, I wrapped them carefully around his ankles before tying them securely.

Meanwhile, Eridan was staring intently at his hands, with a look of shock or even horror on his face. Maybe he just didn’t understand how to clean it off when there was no water? You can’t, to put it simply…

To calm him down, I took one of his hands, his right to be specific. This took him off guard a bit as he did a double take. I pulled my hand away and looked at the liquid as I felt him stare at me. Then, quietly, almost silently, I reached behind him and wrote two letters next to his head.

He glanced at them, and smirked a bit.

“You’re such a dork” He joked, laughing and turning back around to me as I grinned at him.

“Yeah, I kind of am, people say it’s one of my more endearing qualities” I joked back though, to me, it came out as a bit more flirty than I had hoped it to. Gog, dammit. Luckily for me it seemed to skip right over his head as he laughed.

“And what else is, landlubber?” He laughed back and I grinned, chuckling with him. His smile was nice and relaxing to see, thankfully he wasn’t panicked down here. In that moment, the most awkward thing that could have happened; happened.

“RIGHT! WE’RE SETTING OFF! AHOY!” It took me a moment to register Meenah’s shout, a slight smirk on my lips, disappearing as I though of something I should be doing right now…

And in that moment, everything seemed to go just a little bit slower as the words _oh shit_ ran through me head. The ship set off and, as it did, away went my center of gravity, throwing me directly on top of Eridan. My hands landed side by side next to his face and my face was literally inches from his, my knees (having slid forward) were now positioned right underneath that damn fine booty, GOG DAMMIT SOLLUX!!

I could feel my face, fully yellow by my bets. I glanced up to see Eridan staring at me with a face of pure Amethyst, but a look of laughter light and dancing in his eyes. I felt my eyes blow wide as I freaked out and carefully moved back, specifically keeping my promise that I would not hurt him. I rubbed the back of my neck and quietly whispered out, “I’m so sorry oh my gog…” My right fist clenched when suddenly I heard it. It was like a chorus of angels had come down from the heavens. A small giggle and then a laugh like nothing I’d ever heard before.

“Oh my gog Sol, that was hilarious!” hands cupped around his face, Eridan had a face of pure and hilarious bliss. Was it really that funny to him? Ah well, this makes things a bit less awkward doesn’t it? I suppose I should be thankful that is one of his qualities. I laughed along with him, trying to calm down the yellow in my cheeks. Yeah, that definitely was not happening. I scratched my finger against my nose when we calmed down at last. It seemed, he, like myself, was thinking up something to break the silence.

“You know, ever since the whole argument incident between Meenah and Cronus, I’ve wanted to get to know you better” I confessed to him with a smile. He looked up at me and nodded.

“I could easily say the same thing, you just sat there and took it w-with such pride it actually shocked me, a majority a’ people w-would hawe tried to kill him long before you ewen show-wed any sign of it affectin’ ya’.” He commented quickly. I nodded, smiling.

“Want to ask each other some questions?” I asked him, and he nodded with a grin, “Want me to go first?” He seemed to think for a moment before nodding. I thought for quite a while. To be honest, I’m concerned no one had come down to check on me by now but, I think that knew I could handle myself. “If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?” I asked, crossing my arms over my knees as I sat in front of him, watching him cross his legs as he thought to himself.

“I think, if I had to change somethin’? I suppose I w-would change my blood’s natural instincts against different blood types” His answer was so logical, I hadn’t expected it to be, “I feel so aw-wkw-ward around people w-who are my friends, and I don’t know-w w-why… Then I realize that my genetics made me this w-way and I suddenly remember… I w-will newer be normal…” He sighed, running a hand through his hair and smiling. “Oh yeah, question!” He suddenly recalled and I laughed slightly. “W-what are your opinions on best friends of the opposite sex?” oh come on Eridan that’s easy.

“Well my opinion on that is simple. One of my best friends is a female so, I have no issues with it. Of course, the other is male but, hey, whatever. Friends are friends” I smiled as he nodded in agreement. I then continues with the next question, “Would you ever take back a person who cheated on you?” I asked. He let out a ‘tsk’ noise.

“No, I w-wouldn’t” That was blunt, and very good to know because nor would I, “as far as I’m concerned it ain’t flush anymore if they can cheat w-without thinkin’ back on the person they w-were w-with” I like this guy. I nodded with a smile.

“I know what you mean” I laughed, nodding at him, being completely honest.

“Anyw-way, my turn” He smirked, “Are you more into looks or brains?” He asked.

“I’ll be honest, a bit of both is fine with me” This seemed to take him a little by surprise, “If a person isn’t exactly the stereotype of gorgeous but has some feature that I love, it could even be just one feature, and the brains of an average person, I’ll probably give them a shot. I fall for people if they’re worth falling for” I smiled shyly. This was such an awkward answer holy shit. He laughed a little at my response.

“Sounds reasonable to me” He said in response. This stupid banter and questioning continues for ages, I lost track of the time, asking questions about his life and giving answers about mine. I didn’t ever do this with anyone.

You really are something special.

Aren’t you, ED?


	22. Eridan: Contemplate and Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course it's relaxing being on your own, but it's more relaxing and fun listening in on other people's conversations. OR so Eridan thinks at least...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp... It's been a month and I feel terrible for not giving you guys the chapters you deserve because, honestly, you deserve them. So, during that month, though it's simple, I also decided to compose some music for you guys, only if you're interested though.  
> Enjoy the kinda bad chapter and, if you want to, here's the music piece:  
> https://musescore.com/user/5478986/scores/3549566

When Sol left it was only because he got yelled on and, to be honest, I was having the time of my life in that cell. I hadn't really been sure what to think of him before but now? I knew that he was great, all smiles and trying to keep people happy. He reminded me of myself; a more depressed and mourning more popular version of myself that is. I don't blame people for liking him, he's a dork who ends up flushing profusely upon accidentally doing something. I glanced up to the letters on the wall. E.D. He was calling me that now wasn't he? That's cute, I've had Eri; Eridan; Fish Breath; Idiot and; Bro before but never E.D. I smiled before grimacing down at my ankles. Oof, fuck… Those stung like a bitch- I could ignore them when Sol was distracting me with his cute dorky face but now, with nothing to take my mind off them, I couldn’t keep my eyes off my blood dripping into the cloth, staining it a light purple. It looked gross and sickly, my skin was touching along the insides of the cloth and that felt extremely sensitive. Running my hand along the wood of the floor of the cell, I lowered myself down, placing my head to the floor, knocking my horns against it lightly. Ouch. As I lay there, I began to listen. To the wood, to the water beneath it and far beyond. It seemed that my connection to the outside world extended past regular hearing, at least that's what Cronus had said when I was younger… My fins twitched slightly at the thought of my ancestor, urgh, what a dick.

“So? What’s he like?” A voice spoke softly, female by the sounds of it and not one I had met before.

“He’s pretty cool” Sol. “I like him that’s for sure, but matter of facts is that we have to keep him locked up… I really don’t want to” Aww… That’s cute sol. Channeling my hearing as much as I could I pushed myself to listen outside of the ship.

“I don’t care W-vriska, this v-was originally your plan and now-v, my dancestor has to pay the price for it…”

“Yeah yeah yeah, I’m soooooooo sorry about that your majesty” Urgh, those two?! What the fuck?! “It isn’t my fault, I didn’t plan for them to take Eri-dumbass now did I?” Well that’s just rude, fucking bitch.

“I don’t giw-ve a shit…” Cronus let out an almighty sigh which I heard as clear as day in my ears, “V-what’s the next part of your plan, it better be good because, if it ain’t, v-we’re gonna haw-ve an uprising on our hands”

“Oh trust me Cronus, I knoooooooow what you mean and, you can trust me… This time? Everything will go according to this plan-“

I suddenly stopped listening when I was startled out of my skin by the resonating sound of feet a few feet away and shot up, pushing myself back and staring at the bars. Who…? The person who came down the flight of stairs was no one I had ever seen before. I blinked as I stared at her. I didn’t think anyone wore dresses on ships but this woman proved me wrong, and she did it in style. Long black hair cascading down her back, matching her black lips; little glints of gold across her ears, lips and eyebrows; all of it added up to one picture of a woman I wasn’t exactly sure how to speak to. How the hell could anyone pull this off without freaking out and being self conscious? I certainly couldn’t.

“So, you’re the one everyone’s so hyper about” She glanced me up and down, eyes mostly locking on my hair and my ankles, “I’ve got to say I can see why, you don’t seem all that hostile… Not like your captain at all”

“My captain is a dick head, of course I ain’t like him” I scoffed quietly, allowing the smallest sadness that I was feeling to take it’s place on my face. She seemed to take a small amount of pity on me for this.

“Your ankles look sore, does that not hurt?” She asked, sitting down next to me, as I willed myself not to look at the chest she obviously held proud from how accentuated it was, like she was staring me in the face with it, though her eyes did a good enough job at that as was.

“Not really, I’ve had worse” I shrugged, which was true, I had, this wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to me. “I guess it’s rather normal, expected even, for a prisoner” She nodded, glancing back at them.

“I have, just one more question” She told me, looking me in the eyes, tucking her hair behind her ear and blinking a few times before she took a deep breath in and asked it, “Do you know what your captain is going to do to Tavros?”

I felt a slight twinge of anger in my gut at these words, not at her but at fate. Had she been but a few moments later, I could have prevented something happening to this boy, most likely, but now? I hadn’t the foggiest if something was going to happen.

“I’m sorry I don’t, I didn’t even know they were going to take Tavros in the first place” I told her honestly and she nodded in understanding. She stood up quickly before looking back down at me.

“By the way, Y’know, Sollux really likes you” I did a double-take at these words, “Play your cards right and you might just be allowed up on the main deck, he is the first-mate after all” First-mate?! Wow.

“Thank you for that, but I’ll just keep to staying quiet down here for now, it keeps me from causing too much drama” I told her, smiling. She nodded in response, finally leaving. I immediately dived back down to the floor, knocking my horns again in the process and only just keeping my screaming to a minimum, biting the inside of my lip. It took a while but I found my location quickly enough. Scribbling. I had missed the whole conversation and, for some strange reason, that pissed me off more than anything because, god dammit! I could have saved someone’s life just now! Allowing my listening to float down the water to any other part in the ship where dramatic conversation might be happening, I let myself relax, when suddenly laughter reached my ears and I let my eyes snap open. Oh here we go.

“Okay, you make a fair point” Tavros! “So, favourite person aboard your ship?”

“Crew wise?” Yes, it’s Gamzee… Tavros made a noise of confirmation and Gamzee let out a hum of thought, “Currently probably Karkat – I’d usually say Eri but…” He paused and Tavros made another noise of understanding, “Your favourite person on your ship?”

“Oh god, I don’t really know… I’d say probably Sollux but Rufio and Equius take a close joint second, just because I spend more time with them than anyone else so I know most about them!” He laughed. I smiled, just letting their laughter and happy conversation wash over me. It reminded me about the conversation me and Sol had just been having a few moments beforehand. I smiled, letting my eyes shut. His image of being flushed, hands either side of my head as he panicked about me being alright came back to me as a soft grin came to my face. Do I… like him? Suddenly my eyes snapped open and my grin became a soft smile. Am I, okay with liking him? Yes, I am… Would Cro be okay with it? Hell no, of course he wouldn’t.

“But seriously, thank you” Huh? “Honestly, I’d probably have lost my mind down here if you weren’t around”

“I could say the same thing right back to you buddy… After Eri disappeared, I thought I’d lose it, but I know I can count on you”

My breath that came out was uneven but happy as my fins fanned for a moment. It meant a lot that those two got along as there was a small potential chance that the two may help end this whole war altogether, and get this the hell over with. A small smile on my lips, I lifted myself up and tuned back out of their conversation, wincing as a sudden shock of pain went up my right leg, most likely from lying on the wound. I ran my fingers along the slice, feeling the warmth of the blood on my fingers. It had stopped bleeding, I knew that, it was just sore now and the remnants of blood were now left upon the cloth. I decided that now was an okay time to check them.

Unwrapping the cloth I winced and grimaced looking down at them. Oh god that was hideous and probably would not be the same ever again. A scar would definitely form where the ring of pain around my ankle was throbbing. I took the cloth and looked at the purple blood that placed me above others. Why the hell was this seen as being so valuable?

As far as I could tell, Karkat’s blood was so much more precious than my blood was, it was so rare that a majority of them were killed out of fear by high bloods, others were mostly taken into slavery or imprisoned. I laid down upon my back following this and stared up at the gaps in my ceiling which would be the floor of the deck. I watched shadows moving about above me and slowly allowed myself to relax into a comforting feeling of warmth and welcoming I hadn’t felt since I had left my recuperacoon back on land all those years ago. This ship; this place; these people… They proved to me that a house is not what makes a home, nor is it a ship or any form of roof over your head. Home is the people who make up the household within it, and in this case I truly felt the homely-ness that was on this ship, a close bond between people that was being infected into our ship, the presence of Tavros rubbing off on Gamzee which would, surely enough, rub off onto others. I let the darkness consume me as I noticed the shadows get harder to distinguish and as night set in, I felt a small jerk of the boat, assuming that tomorrow was this ship’s beginning in moving to it’s next target.

I don't know about you Sol. 

But it seems we're about to have a shit load a' fun...


	23. Sollux: Go for a wander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When we enter certain states, certain things happen that are not open. Luckily enough, Sollux wakes up and everything is... Pretty normal?  
> ... Aren't they?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be honest, this chapter is the reason rating may change is a tag.  
> This DOES CONTAIN SMUT  
> And I'm so sorry for all of you younger readers who did not want to be violated in such a manner...  
> But anyway, enjoy!

The smell of the air around me was more than filled with the smell of salt. It was a smell I hadn’t smelt before. Sitting up in my bed, I rubbed my eyes slightly, and blinked, before I slipped out of the comfortable covers. Something was dragging me, it felt like a natural pull. I wandered down the corridor as quietly as I could in order to not wake any of the others currently aboard. It must have been a strange hour in the morning, as the sea was calm, Rufio was asleep at the wheel, and the sky was littered with stars. A brush of wind left it’s marks across my face and I let myself smile, blinking up at them. Mituna once told me that every star in the sky was a human or troll who had died and that their stories were left behind every star so we should respect them.

I smiled as I looked to the sky, wondering which one he now represented, and what each and every one of these people were, what they did in their lives and so much more. As I did so, my eyes caught on the empty crow’s nest. It was a shame really, no one had the same capabilities as Tavros so the post would never fully be filled up – not until Tavros returned safely to us. Suddenly thinking about it, I glanced across the horizon to the Aquarian, not too far away from us. Sighing, I walked towards it. I wondered to myself just how Tavros would be doing right now – and if he would return to us in the same condition. Speaking of ‘enemies’… I turned and glanced down the cells corridor, a flickering light coming from it. Not surprised, no one had been down there to put it out, or at least, that’s what my think-pan ran along the thought of, at minimum. Why don’t I go have a little chat with him?

Smiling to myself again, I walked as quietly as I could towards the cell corridor, hoping not to disturb Rufio. Half-way down the stairs I remembered that the eleventh creaks upon a person stepping on it. It was a defense mechanism for us so that any escapees could be identified. I stepped over this step as carefully as I could when I heard it. It was soft and almost distant. I was close to not being able to hear it. A… whimper? Pausing on the stairs, eyes blown wide, my head ran in one-hundred different directions. Was he…? Blinking and turning to face the deck again before looking back at the cell area, I let curiosity take my hand and pull me into the corridor, still remaining as quiet as possible… Though this time? Not only for Rufio’s sake. Curiosity… Damn Curiosity, it always, always wins. Continuing to listen other noises like the one I had heard before joined it. Slowly, they became a melody to my ears and I sighed quietly listening to it. At this point I was struggling to stay calm, the lingering smell from the air now beginning to make sense as my senses heightened. I glance into the other cells, knowing full well that there was no one there… Still. Reaching the end one-

Holy mother of…

The first mate of the ship lay on his back, completely in the buff, one hand gripping onto the wooden slats of the floor, the other clamped over his own mouth as his gills flared and his fins batted back and forth. The bulge that Eridan Ampora was packing was currently thrusting and squirming around inside his own nook. Eridan seemed to be unable to concentrate on anything – not even my footsteps, which I was no longer paying attention to and could be as loud as a giants upon the docks for all I knew. I managed to walk to full way into the room, placing myself upon a stool I had never noticed before in the corridor and watching. Not once did he take notice of me.

It took so much effort not to make a noise at the way he looked. Ruffled; Ragged even, spread out like a starfish, itching and eager to touch but, at the same time, consistently on the verge of sweet release but with no way to let that release come.

“AH!” He suddenly let out the noise that definitely sounded a lot more like it was trying to be noticed and helped than the others. He was getting steadily more desperate. Shutting my eyes and staring at the floor a moment I tried to contain myself from saying anything, “p-please…” That begging voice was released into open air as I looked back up, double-taking on seeing his eyes open. I kept my legs crossed over one another, trying to keep my bulges contained. My self-restraint was slowly but surely wearing very very thin. “S-Sol…” Eye contact, as he bucked his hips up, biting at his lip and leaving purple blood stains on his lips, most likely from all the teasing he was undergoing. “P-please help me…” So close to tears, so beautiful, I struggled to say anything for a moment before letting my natural mating instincts take over.

“Help you with what Ed? You seem to be handling this perfectly fine on your own” I told him, leaning my arms across my knee and smirking at him. Seeing his face contort in what could either be described as painful pleasure or even just orgasmic state. He must have hit some nerve pretty well right there…

“I-It doesn’t w-work like that S-Sol, AH!” He tried commenting back to me, continuing to clench the wood, to the point his fingers were going the same colour as the stains on his lips, “S-Sea dw-wellers… W-we can’t- MMMMH!” You can’t get yourself to release your own genetic fluid huh Eridan? Aww, that’s so cute… He continued bucking his hips, abandoning his sentence fr the pleasure. With a smirk, I moved towards the door of his cell, finding it to open itself for me and lock itself behind me, as I moved towards him.

“You sure you can… Handle me?” I teased him, feeling my bulges aching to be released but gaining pleasure from it as they rubbed against each other, ceating gorgeous friction.

“Bring it” Eridan whispered in a hostile manner, twitching. He was so fucking hot like this, holy damn… Slipping off my trousers I pulled down my underwear, not expecting the sea-dweller to gasp then I remembered that it wasn’t every day the troll you decide to pail has two bulges.

Whatever.

I brought myself down to him and rather easily managed to ease his bulge out of his nook. I felt my lower lip slide between my teeth as I bit into it slightly. There was a lack of hesitation to my movements as I brought my pelvis back towards his nook and my bulges attacked, both sliding in at once. The yell Eridan let out was unholy, but then became nothing but a pile of moans as the began moving slightly inside of his nook.

“Oh my… F-fuck it’s so good!” He cried out, tilting his head back. I was never going to tell him this was my first time, that would be lame. Instead, I simply moved, his tight head around me driving me slightly insane.

“Oh my gog…” I sighed in pleasure, moving my pelvis to move my bulges more inside of him, making it rough, and feeling him moan back against me. Jegus it was so good, so hot. That’s when his bulge somehow made it’s way to my nook and shoved it’s way in, making me moan out.

“Quite v-vocal aren’t w-we, Sol?” Eridan panted, seeming so submissive but gaining confidence at this slight dominance over me.

“Speak for yourself” I lisped before I did something I never expected myself to do. I pushed my lips against his, in a total act of defiance against my code as Meenah’s first mate. I felt him moan against me, drawing so, so close…

And then…

***

I felt my eyes snap open.

What in hell?!

Snapping up in my bed, I pulled off my duvet to find that, thankfully, only my clothes were covered in my yellow genetic material. Thank the gods this is the first night I’ve actually managed to spend alone in my own quarters. I needed to change my shirt and trousers, NOW. Pulling off my trousers and underwear, I glanced down to my nook leaking my genetic material, and a small lump in my stomach as the store where it was continue to leak out. Sighing and rolling my eyes, I reached beneath the bed and sat on the bucket I had under there for safe keeping. Guess what I’ll be doing for the next hour. I spread my legs, allowing more space for the material to escape form me.

“Holy jegus” I whispered to myself, thinking back to the dream I just had. Eridan?! I just had a sex dream about me pailing the first mate of the other ship?! More like a wet nightmare than a wet dream if you ask me, that would be breaking all of the rules and friendships I worked so hard to keep and build up and start over the years.

There was no way I could feel anything for him. No. Nothing at all. Never.

I completely refused it, trying to gather myself together as I felt the last few drops of my genetic material falling out. The adrenaline I had woken up with had worn off as stared at the sudden weight around my neck that was my pendant. Sometimes, Mituna would say that if I lied to him or myself, it would suddenly grow heavier. I never believed him, but now…?

What was I THINKING?!

Pulling on an identical outfit to the one I just had on (minus my yellow genetic material of course) I slipped back into the duvet of my bed. I stared up to the roof. It was bad enough I was considering being friends with him, being lovers of any sort would mean that Meenah would have my head. That’s when I recalled something.

I had to go dump the bucket didn’t I?

Sighing, I came out of the warmth and comfort of my bed and picked up the gog-forsaken-ed bucket. Walking silently down that corridor, the same scene as was in my dream opened up to me, billions of stars stretched across the canvas of the sky. I needed to talk to him; now. Dumping the bucket in it’s entirety into the water, I wandered down to the cells. Thankfully, nothing strange happened as I went carefully passed the eleventh step this time; there was no strange stool in the corridor I had not noticed before and Eridan was fast asleep, fully clothed. Thank goodness. I sat, watching him when suddenly, his breath quickened, his face screwing up. His body curled in on itself, his claws making cuts into his palms as his gills flared in a much different way. Reaching through the bars, I gave him a light rock to wake him up. Nothing. A quick slap to the face did the job though. Eye suddenly open, Eridan took a short while to focus on what was going on around him before his eyes met me.

Dammit…

“W-what’s goin’ on?” He yawned, blinking at me slightly before cracking his neck, “Is it mornin’?”

“No, you looked like you were about to have a nightmare though” I told him truthfully. Suddenly, a relaxation washed over me again just speaking to him.

"Oh... Yeah, I w-was... Thanks for w-wakin' me" He commented back, shying away from the bars as if he felt this nightmare was some kind of weakness. I saw so much of Mituna within him in that moment, curling up into himself and trying to hide away.

"No issue... What was it about?" He glanced up at me as if he was too afraid to tell me and at the same time, annoyed I asked him. I laughed slightly, "My ancestor used to like to speak about his nightmares. Figured it might help"

Silence ran thick for a good two or three minutes as he had some sort of internal debate.

"It w-was about Cronus" Oh? "Before you ask, he ain't got an abusiv-ve w-with me, but he's damn intimidatin' somethin' else... If I told him anythin' about me ev-ven talkin' to you... He'd hav-ve my head on a silv-ver platter" He sighed, staring at the boards and running his claws along them. That makes sense.

"Mituna used to think the same thing about telling me about Latula" The sea-dweller glanced up at me in shock, "I remember, at one point Mituna told me that he had had a nightmare in which I beat him up for talking to someone of Aquarian standard..." I laughed slightly at the memory, making eye contact with Eridan and losing track of what I was saying.

"W-what did you tell him?" Eridan asked, curious. His fins twitched and I felt myself gain a slight chill down my spine, recalling the dream and praying I didn't show any signs of having a... wet dream as Jake calls them.

"I told him that was ridiculous... Love is love no matter what race; what position on the hemospectrum; crew or no crew; enemy or not" I stared at him. 

That's when it really hit me. 

That I was head over heels in flush for the adorable first mate of my captain's enemies. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! You survived right up until the end, who knew! Anyway, hope you enjoyed smut with a bit of fluffy feel-good stuff at the end.  
> But next chapters have some great stuff planned!  
> Get ready for a break in pattern as we follow Sollux next chapter too ;)


	24. Sollux: Go up on deck - Check out what's going on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thankfully not all mornings wake up with wet dreams... No, some mornings you wake up to fucking terror instead...
> 
> Good luck Sollux

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucky things, got in the writing mood and swing as well as having a few hours free time so you get another chapter this week ;) Glad to deliver it to you guys, hope you enjoy because from here on out, shit's hitting the fan.

I woke up in my bed again, though thankfully this time I wasn’t covered in my own genetic fluids. Sighing in relief, I slipped out of the comfortable sheets. Rubbing my eyes, I smiled; preparing myself for a pretty decent day. After all – with everything that was going as well as it was, getting Tavros back would be a cinch. At least, that was what I hoped.

Crawling out of my comfort, I yawned, not bothering to change as I had changed in the middle of the night. The weight around my neck was light today and there was a buzz to my brain. I wasn’t sure exactly how to feel about today. There was a feeling that it would be easy but also an impending feeling of doom. The knocks on the door were quick and light handed.

“Come in?” I asked. Feferi popped open the door and smiled at me, a huge grin on her face.

“Wakey wakey Sollux!” She giggled, “I heard you get up from Meenah’s office”

“You and your stupid ability to listen through fucking everything, it’s goddamn terrifying you know that?” I laughed at her, scratching my scalp a little and yawning. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“Whale, that’s the thing, I’m not exactly shore” She told me directly. Fucking fish puns sometimes, I swear to gog… “Meenah wasn’t sayin’ anything a-boat that this morning” She sighed again, this time in annoyance and, by the sound of things, slight defeat, “I’m reely unsure of what’s going on at a-“

“WHAT DO YOU WANT CRONUS?!” Oh, speak of the devil and she shall be heard, that’s always how it is on this ship isn’t it?! My and Feferi glanced at each other for a second before she left quickly down the corridor. I took a mere few moments to get caught up, grabbing my bag of throwing stars on the way because you can never be too safe.

“Aye right” Was the first thing Meenah was saying when I got up on deck.

The sun was out and boy was it blinding with light today. It took me more than a few moments to adjust to… Well, One: the Sunlight, and Two: the fact the entire crew was up on deck and watching what was going on. I rubbed at my eyes, taking more than a few blinks to knock everything into focus, from the sunny blue skies and light fluffy clouds to the fact it wasn’t just our crew that was all teamed up and ready to go. The Aquarian’s crew was also grouped up on deck. A whole load of them I had never even seen on the deck previously, some of the more intimidating being higher blood types – no doubt about that. What had me curious however was that the girl I was almost positive was Cronus’s right hand girl was holding a knife to one of the highblood’s necks. Was Eridan not the first mate of the crew? Damn, this whole time I’ve had it wrong… Never assume, I shouldn’t anyway because if I did I’d say FF was First mate of the Piscion but no, it’s me, so I can’t say bullshit I suppose. The Sunlight, better than anything, highlighted the terrible state that the Aquarian was in, seemed that someone had been sick on the deck recently and that was yet to be cleared up yet. But no matter, right now was not judgement of your ship time, now was judgement of what was going on time.

“I ain’t givin’ you back Eridan, Cronus, not ‘til our Tavros has been returned safe ‘n’ sound” Cheers resounded from the rest of the crew at Meenah’s words as I walked over to get a better view of what was going on. Cronus stood up near the wheel, the gap between our ships was rather large but not too far apart, I’d say about 150 or 250 meters split apart the ships – is that human measurement? Gog, I don’t know.

“V-Whale Meenah, looks like v-we’re gonna hav-we trouble cuttin’ ourselv-wes a deal” Deal? He grinned before he spotted me. That grin quickly faded as he layed eyes upon me, a look similar to that of the feeling of wanting to commit murder was placed upon his face. I simply stayed silent and kept my eyes upon him, “First mate aye?” He asked, obviously directing the question towards me. I kept my mouth shut as he continued, “V-what’s your opinion on this? V-why don’t you just let Eri go and v-we’ll be done v-with it?”

“Not my decision or position to voice” I commented, I felt a lot of the other crew stare at me in shock meanwhile my crew was starting to get some confidence form me standing my ground, “My vow is to follow my captain ‘til the end, not to betray her and try to form a truce from the war you started” I commented, putting a certain emphasis on every word that would easily get across that I was not happy at all. My eyes drifted away from his to a face in the crowd.

Latula…

She looked slightly shell shocked and, at the same time, looked like she was going to be either sick or start crying. What the hell is going on? I was about to walk away and ignore any come back Cronus had to say when the sound of soft screaming came from the other ship. Instead I just sort of jumped in place and gripped onto the side of the ship. Cronus’ face was stone cold.

“V-well that’s just too bad now-v isn’t it?” He smirked. Not may people around him seemed to share this over cockiness, a majority looked terrified. The highblood that was held captive was attempting to get out of the solid and cold grip of the woman with the red blindfold. He looked so very close to murder – if Cronus was bad this guy looked ten times worse, purple blood dripping down his neck. What the fuck?

“And why would that be?” Meenah asked, she too leaning against the side of the ship. So much curiosity as to what the hell had been going on on that ship over the past few days – however it seemed we were about to find our exactly what was going on. The high blood from the other ship finally passed out in the arms of the girl that was holding him up, most likely thanks to the loss of the blood that ran cold down his neck. The lot of us gasped. Cronus turned around calmly and sighed.

“V-Weak, only a few-v liters gone” Cronus sighed, rolling his eyes. Another high-blood, most likely the ancestor of the one that passed out considering they were almost identical, had to quickly be restrained from launching himself at Cronus by a female in a dark navy blue shirt, shit glasses framing her eyes. She seemed to be hushing at him and urging him to calm down. No real surprise there. He glanced forward at me when suddenly the screaming from before became more prominent. A door at the bottom was suddenly opened by one of the members of crew as a woman walked out. Tavros was restrained within her arms though you could see him struggling desperately to free himself. Ropes bound his wrists to each other, his arms to his sides, his legs to his stomach and the bottom of his legs to his legs. He was gagged with a piece of white cloth while the girl holding him grinned at his state.

Anger surged through, not only me, but Rufio, Meenah and the rest of the crew as well, screaming, yelling. One thing was for certain. Right now there was not a chance in hell they were getting Eridan back, not with Tavros tied up in the way he was.

“HEY! LET HIM GO!” Meenah screamed at the top of her lungs, gripping onto the side of the ship to stop herself from throwing something at Cronus if not shooting him. I glanced at her and saw the sudden darkness to her eyes. Glancing back I noticed the female that had carried Tavros in disappearing down the side to where Tavros was. He suddenly began yelling even more, distress very noticeable.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING BACK THERE?! DON’T TOUCH HIM!” I yelled at her, taking off my calm and rather entranced mask. Cronus now turned to me with a smirk on his face.

“Oh? And v-why v-would she do that?” He smirked. Cocky little… I almost picked out one of my throwing stars and threw it at him right then and there but I was beaten to the mark but the sound of bullet. A yell of pain came from one of the low-bloods positioned behind Cronus and to the left of him. It seemed the low-blood had gotten a graze from the bullet before it hit into the wall. Fortunately though it had also caught Cronus’ ear enough to get a message across. I glanced up at Jake’s face to see it completely stony.

“You heard what he said… Don’t touch him, or you’ll deal with the lot of us, got it?” No fanciness to his words, no jiggery-pokery as he’d often put it… Jake was stone cold and dead serious. It was terrifying. I glanced back to Cronus who growled at this – dabbing at the slight cut beside his ear.

“W-very v-well then…” He sighed, “I hoped it v-wouldn’t come to this but, you leav-we me… No alternativ-we” He commented. He nodded down at the girl to his left. We all stayed in silence, unsure of what exactly he was about to do when…

The fuel from my worst nightmares came right back to haunt me.

When Tavros came back into our view he was still tied up, though this time he had some sort of chain attatched to one of the ropes and he was screaming, literally screaming. Mituna’s face came back into my vision as sudden memories of that day went by my mind in flashed. I shook my head. Nothing like that was going to happen. Nothing. But now I couldn’t stop it, as I gripped at my head, hoping and praying for solace from this waking nightmare of reliving the death of someone I held closest.

Eyes, the eyes were the worst thing about these stupid memories, as they mirrored back. I almost missed what was happening in the real world. It was when Jade let out a high pitched yelp and gasps were heard across the ship that I zoned back in.

“Giv-we us back Eri, or he goes full in” Cronus warned. Tavros looked fucking terrified, his eyes blown wide as his chest went up and down with his frantic breathing as he prayed that this would not happen. He was dangling from the strong and thick chain at the side of the ship, head against he Aquarian, obviously hoping and praying something would be done. Much like Meenah to never give up her cause though.

“My deal, Cronus, was I’d only give back Eridan if Tavros remained unharmed. Seems to me that he’d be harmed if you did that!” She was stalling, praying for time for one of us to figure this out. My brain was hard wired into a mode that was fight or flight – my worst memories and a terrifying waking nightmare keeping me adrenalized and prepared for the worst. That’s why, when Cronus sighed, I pulled off my shirt very quickly, noticing that none of the other crew or my crew noticed or payed any attention to my strange action.

"Seems I'll hav-we to giv-we you one last chance" He grinned, though it seemed very halfhearted, "Eri, or your little Tav goes bye bye!" He mocked us and I let out a growl similar to that of the stereotypes of low bloods the high bloods loved so much. I sounded like an animal. A pure animal.

"We will never give you Eridan with Tavros in that condition" Meenah growled along side me. The oppositions captain rolled his eyes and if to tell us this whole thing was boring to him. I almost cut his head off...

“Drop him”

The splash sound and then the sound of screaming and chaos, swearing and not swearing were very quickly gone. My feet touched wood of one kind, to wood of another… Then, my finger’s hit water and all sound faded out to dim whispers…

I wasn’t losing another to this disastrous fate.


	25. Sollux: SAVE TAVROS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NO WAY IN HELL WOULD YOU LET THEM DROWN HIM; SOLLUX, GET AFTER TAVROS - SAVE HIM!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO, Easter Holidays have commenced so I should have some more time to write up the remaining chapters!  
> ANy way - ENJOY!

Darkness… That’s always the first impact of getting down here. Then? It’s the absolute and utter clenching in your lungs… For a mere moment. I had to come up a moment, gasping for air. All of the time I was up there, I couldn’t properly concentrate on listening to the screaming and yelling that Feferi was doing. I instead kept my focus on what I was doing; paying attention only to the hammering sound of my heart and trying to get the trick I’d learned to work. I had only ever done it one or two times before, and now? It HAD to work. The fear really started to kick in when thoughts of Tavros hit me. Estimating from now, I guessed I had about two and a half minutes to get down there and help Tavros, if this didn’t work. I could hold my breath for that long at least. My psionics buzzed and, for a moment, I thought that I would be able to do it but, upon diving into the water, I realized that my plan had backfired slightly and I would have to hold my breath for the destined amount of time. I love water, as much as it is strange to say that in this moment, after all Mituna drowned and I’m a land dweller, it’s pretty strange. I could feel the eyes, all around me, watching me, judging me… Waiting. Tavros was in my sights, the boy was doing exactly what I had said to do, if anyone ended up in this situation. Concentrate only on holding your breath, don’t struggle for freedom. Not yet…

* * *

“You want to learn how to swim?” Feferi asked me, obviously pretty shocked – I don’t blame her, a land dweller asking to learn to swim is pretty strange.

“Listen, Mituna died of drowning, if I learn to swim I’ll at least have some sort of defence against that fate, right?” I told her, quietly. I remember, at the time when I asked her, I was really embarrassed about the fact I was asking her this. I remember that she smiled and was super reassuring about it. She taught me simple things to start off with and told me that I would have to hold my breath underneath the water. She taught me how to do so and timed me with Meenah multiple times to see how long I could hold my breath. The most entertaining moment from all of this was when I learned how to perform the bubble head psionics apparatus. 

"You want to what?" Meenah laughed when I suggested trying it.

"I want to try making a bubble of air around my head, so I can breathe like you guys do underwater" I told them confidently. 

"Alright, we can try it!" Meenah and Feferi had laughed. I stopped them laughing when I actually nailed it; after consistently trying. After I got it, however, I didn't try to keep up the practise... Now, I'm starting to regret it...

* * *

The burning sensation of drowning was one I was all too familiar with. But, right now, that didn't matter. Sure, it was bad; my supply of oxygen had cut off from the rest of my system and, slowly but surely, my brain was processing that, this time, if it was not done in two minutes? I would be dead, and so would Tavros. 

Grasping onto the ropes that held his unconscious figure together, I ended up wrestling with the brown snake that held onto him, entangling and disentangling my fingers from the knot that it had tied itself into on the chain as a sort of self-defense. It hissed like a beast with every movement, leaving harsh deep and red gashed across my fingertips. But, finally, after battling for the thirty seconds I had given myself, the knot became undone and doom began to clear from the haze that was across my vision. The smallest ray of hope that we would make it out of here, shone instead, that I could possibly do this. Grasping him grasping him across his chest, tightening him against my chest, the remains of the rope resting against my bare chest. With any and all of the energy I could muster, I began to kick as Feferi had taught me, one foot after the other. 

And the two things I held onto shone so strongly in that moment it was hard to keep going. Hope, and doom... Neither could live without the other; and when they are in balance, all is well. Currently, I was pushing against the feeling of doom with my bare feet, praying this would not be the end of me. Not only was the feeling of drowning almost imminent but also, the sea dwellers of these waters... were not safe to be around. 

We call them; black death. Meenah doesn't trust them in the slightest and Feferi was raised against them. Wild sea-dwellers with no concept of walking on land or talking to us low-bloods. They take any chance they have to grab us and feast on us. I pray that Mituna's demise was not to their hands but, if it was, I would not be all that surprised, just even more saddened about the event. More than anything, what terrifies me most about these creatures is that their skin is developed further than Meenah and Feferi's and this is more scale like, but they have a higher intelligence from what we've seen and could take down a ship in a simple matter of a few blows... Fortunately we haven't had any malicious intent with them for a while. They added to this feeling of doom, I could feel them watching me.

But hope dragged me on, pulled me upwards towards the surface. If I made it out, I could save him, I know I could and, although he was unconscious, I could hear his heart's uneven banging against my chest... This was a good sign. 

I also felt another set of eyes. Not only the members of my crew praying for me to make it out, but another pair. I saw, as I looked up, that the Aquarian had set sail away from this area, though our ship had anchored for me to make it back up. The unfamiliar set of eyes. Eridan... I could feel him watching me, I could feel him praying that I would make it... This small ray of hope, of sunshine. Suddenly it hit me why I liked him so much. 

He actually had hope for me; unlike everyone on his ship, he was praying and hoping I could get out. The light above me became the pure and utter focus of my concentration as I pushed all my energy into my legs and kept pushing... When the final countdown of seconds happened, I could feel them. 

3... 3 seconds remained on the timer I had set for myself and I was so close. I could feel the black death keeping watch on me, and hoping and praying I would lose energy. I kept fighting their hopes. I wouldn't let the doom they brought overcome me. They hoped for my demise... I hoped for theirs. 

2... A mere meter or so away; and I prayed that someone would give me that last ounce of strength I needed to make it to the surface. I can keep going... I can do this, I can make it. I know I can.   
I have to  
Two lives depend on it. 

1... 1 Second remaining and I felt my legs giving out, pain filling them. 

0

 

Breaking the surface; the oxygen that flooded my lungs with the shuddering gasp I let out was needed and it burned - so much worse than I had been without oxygen. I let out a scream in pain; but it wasn't enough for me to forget to pull Tavros up. As soon as I did so, the resounding cheers right across the deck flooded my ears but not my brain.

It had stopped. 

"GET HIM UP THERE!!!" I screamed, I couldn't concentrate enough to use psionics so, instead, as I waited for the rope to be pulled down, I ripped off the gag that had been wrapped around his mouth. The rope came quickly and I tied it onto him. "HE NEEDS CPR, FAST!" Suddenly, there was panic and, not confident to be waiting around any longer, I used the fact that the ship's wood was layered as an advantage, climbing up the side of the ship from the water, grasping Feferi's hand as she helped me up. 

I launched forward to Tavros's side as Rufio began performing CPR on him, two breaths of air into the mouth and then had reached fifteen in the chest compressions. I watched, and I could tell from the gasps I heard around me, that people were not only freaking out about Tavros, but also about me, though I hadn't the faintest idea why, I was fine, just a little oxygen deprived, I would be alright though. Tavros...

28... 29... 30... 

Rufio took a deep breath in and placed his lips onto Tavros's, pushing the air into his mouth. He repeated this and I was about to lose hope when...

A spurt of water came out of Tavros's mouth, as he coughed, gagged and spluttered. He opened his eyes slightly before closing them again, his breathing quick, and harsh. 

Cheers resounded throughout the ship as I watched Rufio tug Tavros further into his arms, undoing the knots of his rope. "Good timing" i muttered to myself. One more second and Tavros would have been a goner. I stood up, steadying out my breathing as Meenah smiled and patted my arm on the way past. I nodded, batting a hand in response. One more second...

That's all the difference we would have needed. 

And Tavros would have been gone. I glanced up at the sky, and, finding it appropriate, I let a smile grace my features. 

"Proud of me Mituna?" Sure, I received no response - but deep down in my heart I know that somewhere in the dream bubbles; my ancestor smiled down at me, proud that I had taken his tragedy and done something good with it... I know.

* * *

 

Tavros woke up fully a few hours after the event and it was me and Dave who were by his hammock-side when it happened.

“H-huh?” He had spoken quietly, his voice harsh and broken, as if it had been used too much, possibly for screaming or, in his case, possible lack of use, though I wasn’t sure. Me and Dave thought we had been dreaming for a moment when we whipped round to him; having been playing a game of ‘President’ (as Dave calls it, some strange human card game) by his bedside as his monitors. It had been silent up until that moment but thanks to this silent card game, we heard it. “S-Sollux?” I looked at him, smiling and staying quiet, knowing that the lack of oxygen would have left him with a killer headache, equal or greater than mine had been. “D-Dave?” The other male let out a side of himself I had never seen before when, every so gently, he took Tavros’s left hand between his own and put a little soft smile on. A supportive, all walls down side of Dave I felt privileged to get to witness.

“How are you doing Tavros?” He asked softly, keeping his voice quiet so that we didn’t hurt the boy more than he already had been. His voice was a mere whisper of what it normally was and that didn’t scare me but it didn’t inspire confidence in me either.

“Ugh…” Tavros whispered out, “I- What happened?” He asked me, attempting to sit up slightly, only to collapse back to the bed, a loud groan escaping his lips.  
“Take it easy Tavros, easy for now, slow and steady” Dave spoke quickly rather than loudly now, trying to stay calm, most likely for Tavros’s sake.

“I remember seeing you guy on the ship but… Everything is fuzzy from there” Tavros told us, his voice as soft as silk, now, getting steadily back to what it had been.

“You almost drowned, the Aquarian crew had you dropped into the water in ropes” I told him, figuring he would be better off knowing than not knowing as I placed a hand to his forehead. He was still so warm from the sudden rush of oxygen and I could feel his heart breat in his head. It remained uneven, as it always had, but it was steady again, which was good.

“Did you save me Sollux?” Tavros asked me bluntly.

It took me by surprise, of course, but I nodded softly, smiling at him. Seeing the smile that graced his featured made everything that I had just been through worthwhile. Anyone who ends up with Tavros will be happy, because honestly, if someone falls in love with him and can make him smile every single day? They deserve his magic. “Thank you” He murmured, smile lighting up across his face.

“Get some rest Tav, okay?” I told him softly, brushing strands of hair out of his face. He nodded, allowing the darkness of sleep to slowly consume him. I stood from my spot and murmured to Dave to keep an eye on him. Smiling to myself, I wandered up outside and stared across the ocean. My gog… What an adventure this has been so far. But what has me more curious than anything else is that we haven’t given Eridan back…

I wonder what we’ll be doing with him now, and what his thoughts are on this whole ordeal…

My little ray of lost hope.


	26. Eridan: Safe...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much chaos had happened in the past few weeks that, me and you would probably break under pressure. More chaos is about to come Eridan's way though; it was time to become part of the Piscion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEEEE! I've been so excited to release this but it took so long to get everything i wanted to say down and it's a lot longer than my chapters usually are but oh well WHO CARES?! ENJOY FOLKS!! xx

Shock. Complete and utter shock. My face had been stained in tears at the events that had come to pass. And yet, at the same time, I hadn’t the faintest what I should have expected. I knew that Cronus would kill himself to save my skin but, to sacrifice the life of someone else to save me… For some reason I found that so much harder to believe. What could be expected though? The night had begun to close in as the events all recounted in my head;

Paying close attention, I had pushed my head up right to the floor again, listening through the wood to the surface where the lot of them had been having a conversation. At first, I struggled with some things Cronus was saying for a bit but the conversation of the Piscion side came in thick, fast and easy to understand. “Not my decision or position to voice” Was the one voice I heard above all others. I had heard my name mentioned just previously so this must have something to do with me. I hadn’t the faintest idea why though, my head was thumping, a lack of and uneasy sleep was causing me issues. “My vow is to follow my captain ‘til the end, not to betray her and try to form a truce from the war you started”.

I would be lying if I said Sollux’s words did not impress me. After all, as a low blood on a ship he could pretty much say anything he wanted to Cronus; if he was strong enough to be out here, he was strong enough to take on any of us. I kept my ear to the wood when, suddenly, the screaming and yelling started. Things got even harder to make out and I started panicking myself, unsure of what was to come and what was happening currently. There was some kind of quiet and tense conversation, so tense I could feel the pressure of it deep within my chest.

Then the screaming started again, but this time it was accompanied by the sound of clinking chains and a splash of water, followed by another. I pulled my ear away from the wall to pay attention to the useful window in the bottom of the boat. Convenient… That was the word I thought in that moment as I tried to keep my brain calm. But hey, that’s where I saw them. Sure, it was rather dark, but I could make out that there was no way that it wasn’t them. I kept it safe, deciding in that moment that it was not a good time to scream. I sat quietly for a long time but, when Sollux began pulling Tavros upwards and he started slowing down, I began to mutter, muttering I hadn’t done in such a long time as well.

“Lord… If you do exist and are somew-where out there” I murmured in that moment, hands clasped together as I failed to take my eyes off the two boys, one struggling to take their eyes off the other while the other simply struggled for his life, “Please, please protect them… They don’t deserv-ve this!” I cried out, grasping onto the bars of the cell I was held in, praying, as they disappeared out of sight, that they had made it out okay. I collapsed, tears flooding down my face as I began screaming, cursing at the top of my lungs with a power that was equal or beat that of those screaming in fear on board. I was yelling for all hell to break lose upon my brother, and praying to the lord that somehow everything would be okay but, at the moment, all of that looked very unlikely.

It took fifteen minutes for me to fully calm down, my chest hurting from the pain of forcing the tears out of my eyes instead of remaining within my face. I fell to the floor, praying. Just praying. Cheering. That was what I heard when my brain came back into reality. Did they… make it out? I prayed that that was the reason why and the cheering was not of Sollux’s or Tavros’s enemies aboard the ship. I stayed silent and indifferent anyway.

Life closed in, just as the Piscion obviously moved into some form of dock, most likely in another one of their ports upon the western coast. I remembered from Cronus’s map that it was an area we were not allowed to enter unless we wanted a fight – so it must be enemy territory. I stayed quiet. The people aboard the ship couldn’t be heard and, as I lay my head to the wood, I attempted to concentrate on any conversation I could hear.

“Do you reckon he’s afraid then?” Strider? I concentrated on him and his position a two floors up on the other side of the ship. Must be the quarters of people high up – strange I didn’t think he’d been on a ship before…

“Very afraid… I don’t know what to do Dave!” A girl that I had never heard of responded. She must be somehow high up in class for Dave to be there then. I couldn’t help but wonder who they were talking about when I pulled away due to the sound of cautious footsteps. I got on my knees and looked to the floor when the feet stopped in front of my cell.

I felt cold shivers run down my spine from simply looking at this man. He didn’t seem to have an affection for showing emotion; his face grave and un-moving, strange black glasses a cracked version similar to the ones Dave wore. Cracked – yes – but they reflected the fear in my eyes perfectly none the less.

“Hello” I said, shakily. His look suddenly went from un-moving to a certain deep sorrow I could only catch from the slight twitch down of the side of his mouth.

“Sea-dweller” his voice sent chills down my spine, and I couldn’t help but grip onto the floor in fright. I didn’t know what was going on and ‘scared’ was an understatement at this point. I nodded, vice too clogged up to properly respond. “The Captain wishes to see you” he told me, “I entrust you to follow through without a fuss” he warned, his voice deep and slow. Fear was something I couldn’t get out of my mind. I nodded. Meenah would be better to see at this point; I wanted to get away from this man. I nodded again, as if to just be sure that he had gotten the message. As he opened the lock (I noted to myself in my head how slowly and carefully he handled it, using soft language under his breath) I stood to my feet, almost collapsing from the pain that remained in my ankles. When the door was fully open; I walked out cautiously, taking care with every step I took out. I avoided him entirely but made sure to walk slowly and calmly beside him so he knew I wasn’t going to book it. I thought, for sure, that captain Meenah would simply be on the ship but, instead, he took me off the ship and onto the land we had docked at.

I looked down at the scene beside me. I didn’t smile but nor did I allow myself to show any fear anymore. I couldn’t break down – not in front of people I should be considering my enemies. I noted that, by Meenah, Sollux stood with his left hand in his right. The look on his face… Words cannot describe the kind of internal torment that showed there. The gleaming eyes filled with pain, the serious looking face, the hands consistently moving as if afraid. Meenah and the rest of the crea had similar looks, as if they were about to do something they really didn’t want to do. The male I was with directed me to kneel in front of Meenah and Sollux. The fire that was blazing beside me, a mere few feet away from me, set terror inside me. The night had begun to set in; I noticed, that the last lines of sunlight were dashing across the sky.

“Eridan Ampora” she spoke in a serious voice and Sollux winced just behind her, I noticed it, “can you please confirm this as your name?”

“My name is Eridan Ampora” I spoke in return. My voice came out clogged; most likely a result of the fear I felt.

“A deal was created to do with the kidnap of Tavros Nitram; were you aware of this deal?” She then asked.

“I w-was not” I returned, keeping my eyes on her but not allowing maliciousness to enter that look; a look I would struggle with anyway, after all I felt no anger towards this situation – just fear.

“The deal, Eridan Ampora, was that if Tavros was let off with no harm done then we would set you free to return to your ship” shit. But what Meenah? Tavros had harm done to him so… what’s coming for me? “If harm was done to him that lead to his death, you too would be sentenced to death, you too would be sentenced to death” WHAT. I couldn’t see Tavros, and at this point I was panicking; praying for some sort of angel to come to me. “Fortunately for you, Tavros returned to consciousness a few hours ago” PRAISE THE LORD GOG. THERE IS A JEGUS. Wait. But that doesn’t fit- “The third part of the deal was – if Tavros came to harm but lived, you could walk freely on our ship at a cost” Staring back at Meenah, I noticed Sollux move. She looked very near to the verge of tears. “You would be branded”

Silence filled the air.

I turned my face to the floor. I understood, but my fear was so much greater now. I heard two pairs of feet move, all the others watching and making the whole situation seem even more scary. I felt a presence right in front of me and returned my look back up. Sollux…

“Don’t worry” he muttered, sitting down in front of me and offering his hands out. Thinking it over a moment, I took them both into mine, feeling a bit more secure. “I’m gonna be right here, okay?”

“I’m scared…” I murmured, taking a step down off the high horse I held myself on.

“I know… and that’s okay” He told me, resting his chin directly between my horns. My forehead immediately found his neck and buried in, feeling more hooked onto something. Glancing to my right, the outside world was a blur from the lack of my glasses reaching the area. Unfortunately, this made this situation a hell of a lot scarier as the glow of the iron marker burned so much brighter. I gripped onto the hands in front of me just a bit tighter. How?! In all of the years I spent on the Aquarian, I never felt as secure as this before, like I have something to get a grip onto.

“Do it” I muttered. I don’t know if it was Meenah or someone else but, whoever it was, they listened to me.

The feeling of burning is such a powerful one. It feels like being dragged into the depths of hell for a land-dweller and; for a sea-dweller the reaction of the hot metal on the skin is like pouring pure acid onto a land-dweller. It’s so corrosive for us that, as soon as the sizzling sound of the heat on my skin rang out into the air, it was accompanied by a blood curdling screech that came form deep in my throat. I heard gasps surrounding me, and a small trickle down my back as my grip of Sollux tightened. I pushed my forehead deep into his chest as the first of the tears that had sprung into my eyes began to leak. A hand slipped from my palms and grasped onto the opposite shoulder from where the mark was made; as if he was scanning my face over. The singeing and consistent burning in my right shoulder made the sobs continue to rake out of me before the source of it was pulled off. I stilled continued to let the cries pour out, because the pain didn’t stop. My hands automatically lost their grip and wrapped around Sollux, feeling some sort of double jump in his chest (do low-blood’s hearts have more than one chamber? I’ll need to ask about that). My guardian angel please give me a foot hold and keep me safe…

“Sollux” Meenah, “take him to your quarters; wash him down and get him some clothes, I’d like him ship shape to work by the morning” Lots of feet, the sound of sand moving and waves sloshing as well as a fire crackling. I could hear them all walking away while I just stayed there, arms wrapped loosely around this insane low-blood.

“E.D?” I glanced up at him, seeing so much sadness and pity on his face, “can you stand?” I shook my head. I doubted that I’d be able to do it; I felt too weak to do anything. So he did the next best thing he could I suppose. Slipping his arm beneath my knees and another behind my back, he pulled me close to his chest and carried me on-board. Quick banging; very quick thumping in my chest as he held me in such a way. I don’t know if it was embarrassment or something more but I liked it one way or another. “Just for now” I heard him whisper as I nodded onto his chest and let a small smile slip into place. I don’t know if anyone saw us or not. I don’t know if anyone cared or judged. All I knew was that everything was so warm; not only the burning on my skin that remained tingling in my skin; but the other skin I felt just beside my cheek. He handled me so carefully that the only difference between him and his bed was the warmth it held. I looked up, blinking at him.

“W-why are you bein' so nice to me?” I asked him curiously, as he dipped down beneath his bed. Silence remained in he air and, he didn’t come back up for a little bit. I assumed he was just thinking over what it was he would say in return. When he stood back up, he had a shirt in hand for me as he pulled off my old one. When I saw it in his hands I noticed the massive hole singed in the shoulder where I had been branded. It must have been burned through to reach me. Before he even put the shirt on me though, he walked around me and going towards my back. “Sol?” I asked.

“I…” The boy sounded as if he was struggling or words. Long fingers traced around the mark and I felt my heart jump into my throat, going at one million miles per hour. It was a tingling between pain and just a natural and instinctual feeling. I couldn’t describe it properly even if you begged me. To put it simply it was something along the lines of… Wow. “I don’t want you to be hurt anymore…” I leaned forward to move myself out of his touch before shuffling myself around with all the strength I could muster in my arms. He looked so small, I’d never seen him like this. Even when he came and spoke to me in the strange and early midst of the morning – he had seemed more confident. Contrasting colours met my eyes and I felt my heart leap back into my throat. Colour brightened up my face as I looked back. Is this…

“You don’t hav-ve to be afraid of that” I told him, a small smile crossing my face, “I’v-ve been through so much w-worse; and by now-w I’v-ve learned that things alw-ways get better” I said – trying to sound as optimistic as possible. A small smile crossed his lips as he gestured for me to lift my arms up above my head, which I did, wincing a little in pain at moving my shoulder.

“Sorry” he breathed sliding the shirt down onto me, slowly and softly, taking care not to brush against my horns.

“It’s okay” I spoke back softly, “Thank you” He simply smiled again, nodding at me as he did the small piece of leather by my neck into a small bow. It was only then I noticed just how delicate his hands were. For a person who works on a ship, they were in incredible shape. I let out a small breathy laugh at realizing this, my heart running at a million miles an hour. He murmured something, I didn’t catch any of it whatsoever but he definitely said something. I shook my head in surprise as I jumped.

“Did you say somethin'?” I asked, a little more serious than I was curious. Sollux did a double take and I took it that I had indeed heard him say something and it was probably something he didn’t want me to hear.

“Nothing” He lied to me, confidently, a halfhearted smile on his face.

“Sure you didn’t” I laughed in response, and, at that moment, I realized that putting all of my strength into my arms had probably been a bad idea as suddenly a pain shot through them both and I lost my grip, allowing myself to fall to his bed with a little yelp, head landing right next to his lap, as I glanced up at him and tried to laugh; attempting to make a joke out of this. When my eyes re-opened, I saw no laughter in his, but a lot of worry… Was he being serious when he said he wanted to keep me safe? He smiled a little at me and brushed a small piece of my hair back, pulling my rumpled bandanna off before redoing it carefully on my head. The smallest touch against my skin from his fingers and my heart went fucking crazy.

“Get some rest E.D.” Sollux laughed in his throat and I sighed back up at him.

“You get some rest too” I yawned. The look he gave me was amused and yet questioning, a smirk and a cocked eyebrow complementing his features very well. That look quickly disappeared when I found enough strength to tug on his shirt a little bit, a light yellow crossing his cheeks. That’s cute…. “I saw-w you… sav-ve Tav” I told him. I was fading into rest, the pain throbbing in my shoulder was helping to lull me and words were not forming full sentences for him to hear, just fragments… But it was enough to express what I wanted to say. “You need… sleep” I told him. My ability to fake being asleep is something that I severely pride myself in, something that I severely prided myself in even then because, it must have been good considering, a mere few moments after I pretended to be fully asleep, I felt his warmth up against my whole body, right beside me.

“Sleep tight little Aquarian prince” I heard him mutter. I repressed. I repressed the flush that should have come to my cheeks and it took so much energy I may have given myself away.

Please keep me safe Sol… That the thing I thought to myself as I actually began falling asleep. And when I realized that all of this was what I had been trying to push onto other people my whole life… This was the emotion I had craved for so… so long.

This was flush. And there was no hiding it. But I would have too.

Or on my head… be it.


	27. Sollux: Wake Up... AGAIN!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gog, getting a good night sleep is really such an awesome feeling... Well, Sollux, it seems you had an awfully long and decent night's rest. Go wake up Eridan for us now, won't you sweetheart?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY GOD IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I UPDATED! THANK YOU TO THE CARPENTEROFTHEFOURTHWALL FOR GETTING ME TO ACTUALLY GET WRITING AGAIN - AS WELL AS FINALLY A FEW HOURS OT SIT AND BREATHE LIKE, JESUS!   
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little chapter with some fun Piscion crew stuff (and some Erisol, obviously *laughs*)  
> ENJOY! :D

I awoke the next morning to find myself doing a small double take at Eridan’s presence on my bed. It took me more than a mere moment to try and recall what the fuck had happened last night before it all came flooding back. The boy was now fast asleep on my bed, a soft smile on his face. I decided, using the fact he was asleep as a small bonus, to check on his brand. I cringed when I saw it. One thing was for sure, that thing looked fucking painful. I sighed lightly, brushing my thumb across it without pushing any pressure onto it. I watched the change in expression, to a small scowl – an uncomfortable scowl on his face – slightly adjusting himself in his sleep. I laughed quietly at him, smirking at the sleeping form before me.

The atmosphere around us, for the first time on my trip so far, was strangely calm and relaxed. There was no yelling going on at all – and everything was quiet, the ocean was sloshing up on the side of the ship, and it seemed that no one was awake. Or, they were just elsewhere. It was so quiet that the sound of feet outside the door was surprisingly loud. The knock was around the same level of noise and Sollux’s speech in response he attempted to keep quiet, aware that the person outside would more than likely hear it.

“Come in” The door opened slowly, as Dave’s face appeared in the doorway. He glanced at Eridan and winced. I nodded in agreement as we both just sat in silence together for a moment, watching Eridan as he slept. I couldn’t help but feel like the biggest fucking creep – I swear.

“How are his ankles?” Dave asked. I turned around to him quickly before glancing down at the makeshift bandages on them. The bleeding had stopped, which was good. Pulling off the bandages we both made audible little groans of disgust. Poor guy – what the fuck had we done?! The cuts into his skin were deep, to the point they had pretty much cut through all the layers of skin he had available and I was almost certain I could see small segments of the amethyst tinged muscle beneath it.

“He must have worn himself out trying to get comfortable – Jegus” I said, my breath hitching. Glancing at Dave, I saw the same horror that I felt by only looking at his mouth, his jaw seeming to have become slightly lose. “Careful kid, don’t want to catch flies” I commented jokingly. He turned around, slightly confused it seemed, but then realized what I’d said and scoffed quietly at me, blushing a little.

“What will we do? I don’t think he can walk like that” He commented, “Didn’t Meenah say she wanted him ready for work today?”

“Well she’s just gonna have to deal with it for now – he doesn’t need the stress right now, he needs taken care of” Dave looked at me, as if he was slightly confused at what I’d said. Thinking about it now, I have to say, it definitely seemed to be a sort of traitorous thing to say. I guess I just got lucky, thinking on the spot to say “After all, he’s part of the crew now, isn’t he? He’s branded and all” His look had changed then to realization as he nodded.

“I’ll go speak to her – she asked for me to check his condition” I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that information; _Did Meenah not trust me anymore?!_ However, against my better judgement, I simply left the matter be and told him to go ahead and report back to her, I would give a more detailed account when I could manage to get free time on my hands. And with that, he was off out the door, and I watched him disappear. Turning around slowly, I looked back to Eridan, who seemed to be in the process of attempting to wake himself up. I laughed quietly to myself again at his sleeping figure.

“Hey ED” I whispered, gently rocking him by the shoulder. Slowly, he came to life, a small and confused groan escaping him as I giggled quietly again. His eyes looked up at me, confusion riddled with tiredness and a sense of loss completely littered his face.   
“Sol?” He said in return, blinking as he rubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands, rolling further onto his back than he had been. He let out a little yawn as I stood up, going and getting a closer look at his ankles than I had before and gulping a little to try and make myself not be sick.

“I don’t want you to walk today” I suddenly told him boldly. He paused in his rubbing as he slowly removed his hands from his eyes and looked at me, before glancing around, obviously looking for his glasses. I had removed them when he was in a deep enough sleep last night - I didn’t think they would have been comfortable to sleep with. Standing up, I grabbed them from my nightstand and gave them to him as he was finally coming to terms with my words – it seemed obvious to me that his sleep riddled brain was completely confused and hardly coming to terms with anything that was going on.

“W-why?” He seemed to speak rather clearly for someone completely drunk on sleep at the minute. I laughed for a moment before looking back to his ankles.

“Something makes me doubt that your ankles will support you” The amount of lisping I had gone through was enough to make me cringe, however I held strong and decided not to make a big deal out of it in hopes he wouldn’t. He took a glance down at his ankles and sighed quietly.

“W-well… W-what do I do then?” He asked quickly. Looking at him in a manner I hoped would convey my confusion lead to him giving out a small laugh that sounded a little like it was half of a sigh that just didn’t want to happen, “I mean, I don’t w-want to hold you back but I don’t exactly w-want to be cooped up in here all day” And suddenly I knew exactly what he meant.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you, this room has become sort of a prison cell to me” I laughed quietly, glancing around, realizing just how much time I spent in this room and how trapped I felt whenever I was in it. It was one of the reasons I loved my position as first-mate so much, I was hardly ever in my room, I got to be elsewhere. But he had a point, what could he do? Well, I could always take him up on deck and let him get at the fresh air, that might do him some good. Hmm… Yeah, that’s not a bad idea, I can always get Tavros or FF to watch over him as well if I’m called off to do a bit of duty elsewhere, “How about I take you up on deck for a bit? The stairs are strangely comfortable to sit on… For wood” I said the last part so awkwardly I was afraid that a silence would fill up the space to make up for it. Eridan’s laughter was highly appreciated in the moment, and I flushed up like a lemon.

“Sure, w-why not?” He giggled, “Gog, Sol, hav-ve I ev-ver told you how-w insufferably cute you are sometimes?” I let my back go straight as I looked at him with a start and tried to will the flush on my face to calm down, even just a little bit.

“N-no…” I coughed slightly, in hopes it would somehow help me… To no avail, “No you haven’t” I laughed in return, “But I can take that as a big yes to take you up, right?” He nodded in response, this little smile on his face as his breathing evened out from his rather large laughing fit, “Cool” I said, hooking my arm under his legs and another behind his back. A small squeak escaped him as he wrapped his arms around my neck. Huh, cool – didn’t realize that would happen so fast. “What’s up fish-boy? Don’t you trust me?” I asked, glancing at him. The eye contact that we shared within that moment was… Something I’ll never forget.

“I… I do” He murmured quietly, and I smiled at him, cocking my head slightly left as I kicked my door open, having to break eye contact in order to maneuver my foot to do the job. He laughed at me while I did it as well. (“Shut up ED!”   
“Hey, I’m not sayin’ anythin’!” Was the conversation that accompanied it)

Walking up into the open sunshine, I noticed why the noise levels had been so low. It seemed that everyone had, once again, spread to the surface. There were more than a few crew members on the shore line but it seemed a majority had fled to the forests, seeking the forbidden fruits that lay within. They weren’t necessarily forbidden though – after all this was our territory. I continued to just kind of hold Eridan up as I watched my crew members on the shoreline. It seemed to be some sort of game of tag they were participating in. It seemed Rufio was it, and his wings had been tied down in order to prevent any sort of upper-hand he may have had previously.

“I love your crew-w” Eridan’s words came as a shock to me as I glanced down at him. The morning sunlight on his face revealed just how sun-deprived he had been down there, his skin was definitely a few shades lighter than mine by now.

“Really? What makes you say that?” I smile in return though, secretly, I’m very glad he loves them just like I do.

“My crew-w w-wouldn’t ev-ver do somethin’ like this… Fun and games just- doesn’t really seem to be their thing” My smile disappeared as Eridan’s thoughts obviously trailed off to his crew and his smile became a thoughtful look of neutrality, nothing really conveying through his facial expressions anymore. I walked up the stairs to the top deck where I placed him down on the side of the ship to sit down, the ledges wide enough to fit an ass on. Not meaning it as an insult however, Eridan didn’t really seem like an ass… As far as I was aware?

“Tell me more” I commented. He glanced at me, slightly bewildered, “About your crew”

“W-well, if I am part of your crew-w now-w I can giv-ve you a quick insight… Anyone you particularly w-want to know-w about?” He asked, a small smirk on his face. I thought it over, to all the people I’d seen and heard from, heard the names of and nothing more.

“Who’s the one who dropped Tavros over the side?” I asked quietly. His face seemed to fall a moment before he growled quietly, looking off to the side.

“You mean V-Vris?” I cocked my head slightly, “Long hair, one eye covered by a patch, usually seen in an overly classy dark blue jacket, way too fashionable to usually be seen on the seas” I nodded at the obviously angrily based description, “Yeah, V-vriska Serket. Can’t stand her, nev-ver could and probably nev-ver will – one of my ancestor’s right hand goons and a right pain in my backside” His face was able to convey the emotion of anger so well within the moment he wouldn’t have needed to tell me he hated her, I could have been able to tell anyway. “Basically, to sum it up real nice and simple, she’s pretty abusiv-ve tow-wards more than one of the members of the crew-w, as w-well as being a greedy and manipulative bitch. I don’t think I need to say much more” I let out a small breath of air as he finished.

“Wow… Seems like a dream” I said sarcastically which brought him back to point he didn’t seem as angry. I decided to pick another person wisely. How about… OH! “The guy with the face paint that was being held back during that situation” I asked him, “Tell me about him”

“W-what? Gamzee?!” He started laughing and I felt relief crash over me like a tidal wave, “You hav-ve no idea, he’s brilliant in more w-ways than one. I swear, if you’re looking for a friend to trust, you’ll find it in him. Speaking of, I think he likes your Tavros, took a real delight in looking after him w-when I assigned him to”

“Wait wait wait. You assigned him to watch Tavros even though you knew he’d like him?” I asked him.

“W-well yeah, unlike my brother I’m not a complete asshole, I could see the boy hadn’t done anything wrong. He at least deserved someone nice with him, good gog” He laughed quietly. I glanced down at Tavros currently playing on the shore-line, everyone seemed to be taking it easy on him.

“Thanks for that” I smiled at him and he nodded. In the light of day, this seemed a little odd. Appropriately, it probably would have been sunset for stupid romantic moments like this but… At the same time it was kind of special. I was pretty much the only troll at the minute who got to see him like this.

“Hey Sol?” I nodded at him, remaking eye contact. “W-why don’t you go join your friends on the shore? I’m sure they’re dyin’ to see ya” I was a little shocked but I nodded.

“Alright, not a bad idea ED” I nodded, glancing at my crew mates and then back at Eridan, “Catch up with you in a bit though!” I told him truthfully, knowing that I trusted him enough for him to just stay there. Besides, with his ankles in that shape, I would be surprised if he could walk at all. Moving back down the stair and off of the boat, I approached the group, making a quick shout that there was ‘no way I was missing this!’. Rufio made a lunge for me as soon as I said that and I ran for it, booking my way away from him. Jade quickly shouted that I wasn’t allowed to use my psiioniics at the moment because that was totally cheating seeing as none of the rest of them could use them. I nodded in agreement to this term and made a quick movement around Tavros, booking it to elsewhere.

From the warm sand on my feet to the warm beating sun, the whole moment seemed simply magical – relaxing after everything that had happened. The embers of the fire remained from last night, though a few of the remains had scattered towards the shore as the tide had risen during the day. I failed in one of my scatter techniques and felt a hand slap firmly across my arm.

“YES!” The yell of success from Rufio was everything I needed to hear and more. I loved hearing them get excited, hearing them happy… Hearing them at all. I used the energy in me to make chase of Roxy who seemed to be lingering as a happy camper. She had been an easy target to pick and, within a matter of seconds, I had caught her off guard and slapped her shoulder, making her ‘It’.

It was Mituna, who had once told me that being with friends like this, running around like a bunch of idiots, was a good thing. _It shows how close you’ve become_ he said at one point, _when you can slap each other senseless with no emotional_ _repercussions_. As his words came to mind, I laughed quietly and glanced up at Eridan. He had his head in his hands and was currently watching Tavros get chased by Roxy with a happy smile on his face. It made me slightly concerned as to what the conditions had really been like on that ship that, watching a simple game of tag could make him so happy. Roxy had changed targets and was now attempting to get at Rufio who was racing his way over to Horrus who chased his own was out of there as fast as his legs could carry him.

“What’s up with Eridan?” I heard someone ask behind me, and turned to see Jade looking up at him.

“I don’t think his ship ever played tag…” I told her truthfully, “And truthfully, I think he likes watching us play tag because it makes him feel a little safer knowing we trust him” We both stared for a few moments, Jade offering a wave when suddenly he started flapping his arms in some sort of warning. A quick glance behind me and I let out a rather feminine scream, running out of arms reach of Rufio (who must have failed to evade Roxy) across the beach. I didn’t really care that I could hear Eridan laughing at me from here. In fact, it made me so much more comfortable knowing that he was okay, that he felt comfortable enough to do so.

I just prayed that everyone accepted him as much as the people I had already spoken to. As I evaded Rufio’s arms again, I caught sight of Tavros and, with them both in sight. I couldn’t help it really, when the thought came to mind.

What would Mituna think of Eridan... if he were still alive?


	28. Eridan: Watch Sollux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There seems to be hope for peace on the horizon, and during calmer moments, sometimes it's good to have some down time and just get to know people a little better. And that's exactly what Feferi's plan was.

Watching Sollux and the other members of the piscion was the most fun I had had in years – though I wished I could either join them (or at least be of some help sitting up here). Sighing aloud, I dropped my head down into my hand, knowing a small content smile was probably on my face.

“Y-know” I jumped about half a foot in the air when a voice suddenly approached from behind. Whipping to face it, the stranger continued – a girl with long black hair and long but rounded horns, face adorned with a pair of pink goggles, “You could always go and join them” She looked at me as I sort of stared at her with one eyebrow raised, “Oh! I’m shore-y! Did I scare you?!” She laughed, covering her mouth and I half relaxed, thinking of her as a slightly lesser threat than my instincts had first picked up on.

“Uh… Just a bit yeah” I said quietly, rubbing the sweaty palm of my hand across my neck, feeling more than a little self-conscious, “I w-was actually just thinkin’ about that though…” I swung my legs around to let her see my ankles and the poor girl almost screamed, quickly flicking her head away as if the sight of my ankles would cause her to have some sort of allergic reaction. I felt a little bad but not too bad about it – it was just a little of my blood, I’d had worse, “I don’t know-w w-what I could do w-with my feet bein’ all useless like this” I explained.

“That’s so nasty, Oh god it’s _gross_ … Like someone just poured grubsauce on an open wound” She proclaimed, openly gagging. “I’m not exactly the best with, uh… Blood? And all that? Yeah, no, that’s Meenah’s job” I couldn’t help the sarcastic ‘no shit’ that passed through my head as she spoke, “But I do know someone who probably could patch them up a bit!” She proclaimed and, tilting my head in confusion, I watched her run to the side of the boat, a grin now on her face. “JAKE?!” A boy with dark hair, who reminded me so much of John in the way of looks that I did a double take, glanced up in confusion. “COULD YOU COME UP HERE?” He nodded, standing up from what he was doing and running around the side of the ship.

“W-why isn’t he usin’ the gangplank?” I asked her quietly.

“Personal preference, it’s pretty cool to watch though” Curiosity peaked, I watched in fascination as he avoided the gangplank altogether and began scaling the side of the ship, only the tips of his fingers and toes keeping him between the shore and us. He watched every movement of his hands, ensuring that his grip was in a safe place at all times. Interestingly enough, he made it up with no bothers whatsoever. Seeing my shock at this, I heard a quiet whisper beside me, “It’s even cooler when we’re at sea and he does it, trust me” I turned to see her grin had spread even further.

“So, what’s the trouble?” He asked, a smirk to his face. One quick gesture to my ankles and I watched his face scrunch up in disgust, “That looks nasty mate, like you took one step too far into the lions den and came out kicking” You what? “I’ll see what I can do though, ain’t no wound I can’t find some way to at least help a little for, no sir”

“Yeah, he talks like that a lot” The female whispered quietly as Jake rushed downstairs to grab some kind of medical supplies, “I’m Feferi by the way” She said casually, as if the name wouldn’t strike a sort of fear inside of my heart. I had heard tales about her, how she couldn’t handle the sight of blood when it was a friend or a crew-mate, but would cause enough blood spillage to paint the Condescension's armadas in a plethora of colour.

“Eridan” I said, trying to sound casual too, “But, you probably already know-w that” She glanced at me, seeing my staring back at Sollux and the others, allowing a smile to grace me once more as I witnessed him at the most relaxed he’s been in the past few months.

“He looks so peaceful…” Glancing back at her, he witnessed the animated happiness in her eyes, “I’ve not seen Solfish like this in a long time”

“Sol-fish?” I asked, a small and light-hearted laugh on my lips, “That’s so adorable, I didn’t know-w you called him that” She suddenly flushed bright pink, glancing away, a smile on her face. I caught her mutter something along the lines of ‘I’ve never said it to his _face_ before’ but decided not to say anything about it if she was embarrassed by this fact. Staring back out, I couldn’t help but laugh at seeing Sollux get socked in the face by some kind of strange sand-ball Tavros had made that Rufio was now soiling himself laughing about.

“Eridan?” I glanced back at her, noticing that she wasn’t looking at me, still looking out to the rest of her crew-mates. “I hope you’re happy here. You seemed in a bad state before you got here” I smiled softly.

“Happiest I’v-ve been in a w-while” I commented in return.

“Well, your presence shore has had it’s effect on the crew, they seem a lot happier. Probably because we brought our numbers back up, and Solfish… I haven’t seen him this happy since the incident” She smiled softly, staring down at him with this slight sadness to her eyes.

“You mean the Mituna incident?” I asked. She flipped around, an eyebrow cocked.

“How do you know about that?” She asked. I felt slightly intimidated by this, it was like she thought I was some sort of spy. Fair enough, I was on her ship and I wasn’t exactly friend material but I still felt like she could have had a little more trust in me.

“Sollux told me about it, Mituna’s old matesprite Latula is on my ship. I need to tell her about w-what happened… There w-wasn’t exactly a conv-venient moment when I w-was on my ship, w-what w-with ev-verything that was going on… W-What’s still probably going on now” I murmured, turning my gaze to the ocean, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of the vessel, with no such luck.

“Do you miss it?” I looked down to see her looking at me, with less fierce eyes. They weren’t sad, eyes, bur they were highly empathetic, “The Aquarian?”

“No” I said confidently, “But I sure as hell miss the crew-w… Sorry about this w-whole mess by the w-way. My ancestor’s a dick, just in case you hadn’t noticed” I adjusted myself slightly again as Feferi laughed, and Jake showed up, a large supply of medical equipment at hand.

“Right, you’re going to want to hold onto this, squeeze it if this hurts, okay?” Jake told me, handing me a green jacket, “It’s mine, so I’d appreciate if you didn’t wreck it” I laughed quietly and nodded. Dipping a cloth into what I assumed was water that had had the salt removed from it, I began grasping the jacket. As soon as the water made contact with my skin though my hand clamped down over my mouth and the other squeezed the jacket as hard as it could. It was the sort of pain you get when you kick a door, only it kept repeating.

“Don’t worry mate, you’re doing excellently”. I didn’t dare to look but I felt something sharp dip into my skin and I could no longer hide the screaming inside of me, as I took a deep breath.

“mother FUCKER!” I screamed, my eyes clenched shut tight. But the slight change in the sound of fun meant that I knew all had heard me yell. The noise levels crept back up as, I assumed, Feferi reassured them that everything was under control. As things went along, I began to adjust to the painful sensations and glanced down at what Jake was doing. Careful black stitches patched back together broken muscle and skin, as he dabbed at the wounds in between, with the fresh water, to keep the area he was working on clean. Soon, however, he stopped reaching the beginning again and, so, knotting the stitch, he cleaned it up once more and bandaged it.

“Bring your leg up for me chap” I did as asked, my breathing heavy and wavering as he put a piece of wood beneath my foot and up my ‘leg’. He then wrapped this to my foot as well. “Splint, for support in walking” I nodded.

“I don’t mean any offence and I’m really grateful you’re doin’ this but can w-we get the other one over already? It fuckin’ hurts” I stated, shivering slightly as Feferi laughed at my pain. The pain persisted with the other one but, by this point, I was getting used to it – it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been when we first began. I looked up to the sky, and shut my eyes, blocking out what was currently going on. Meanwhile, I began to think of everyone back on the Aquarian, and, if I did end up staying – who would I miss?

Cronus was my ancestor, but he was a massive dick. If his attitude changed then I might miss him but, not at this point, no. Kankri? Yeah, probably. Sure, he could probably run his mouth off if you gave him the chance to but, he wasn’t a bad guy so, yes, I’d probably miss him. I’d definitely miss Karkat, He was one of the closest friends I had on that ship. Besides Gamzee.

As soon as Gamzee’s name came to mind, the image of him being held came back to me. My breathing must have wavered outside because I felt a tap on my arm.

“Hey, are you alright?” I glanced back down at Feferi, “What is it you’re thinking about? It’s obviously distressing you.” I sighed.

“I’m just w-worried about someone is all. It’s alright, really” I reassured her, though the images of what has happened in the past when someone’s pissed off Gamzee returned to me and my breathing hitched again. There had been a lot of blood spilled the last time someone really angered him. He couldn’t help it, it’s in subjugulator blood to have the urge to kill – but it’s not the Gamzee that we know. I spent two hours with him and Kurloz afterwards, calming them down and cleaning them off, reassuring them that it was okay… That everything was fine;

***

_“But… Eridan, bro, what if, one of these times I lose track of my mind and attack, I hurt you, or Cro, or someone else on the ship that I’d been all up and knowin’ for years? What if that happens? I don’t want that to happen!” Gamzee panicked to me, hands laced in his hair.  
_

_“That’s not going to happen Gamzee, so just relax and take it easy, ev-verything’s going to be okay” I replied, squeezing his hand softly in reassurance as he nodded and attempted sleep once again_

***

“Are you shore?” Feferi re-said, just as Jake told me to lift my other foot for the other splint.

“Yeah… They-They’ll be fine” I whispered, praying in my mind that they would in fact be okay.

“Alright, try walking for me?” Jake asked. As soon as I put my foot on the ground, I found the pain to be rather substantial but no where near as bad as it had been. I nodded and walked from one side of the ship to the other, rather unsteadily but still decently and, most importantly, without help. Feferi gave me a quick clap and Jake nodded down at me, “You seem in tip-top order, seem ship shape to me. Fit as a fiddle one might say” He ginned, patting me on the shoulder before grabbing his kit and walking off, Feferi laughing at his statement as he left.

“I… I don’t… W-what?” I said aloud as Feferi started laughing again.

“I think you just put into words what we’re all thinking” She giggled, “Now come on, lets get you down to the beach!” She smiled, taking my hand to help me along as I was still rather wobbly on my feet. The gang plank was a challenge but, was all in all okay. Feferi was still laughing as I waddled my way down like a penguin, having to adjust to how to walk with double splints. The crew on shore began laughing at me as well.

“Alright, hav-ve your fun” I joked, teasingly, a smile on my face.

“Well, it’s good to see you moving” The lisping voice I had become so familiar with had joined us down at the bottom of the gang plank.

“W-was ev-ven better to see you get a sand-ball to the face, amazin’ shot by the way Tav-v!” The mentioned boy gave me a grin and a thumbs up, before continuing to help Jade, Roxy and Dave with their sand castle.

“Yeah, whatever you say little duck” He laughed, a smile on his face that spread from ear to ear. I rolled my eyes, a smile on my face in return.


	29. Sollux: Back to work!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes, time to re-board the ship and hopefully not get totally distracted by anything. That would be terrible if you did! But hey, who knows, maybe you won't, maybe you'll manage to get through this!

A few hours of relaxing later, and I had sand sticking to damp parts of my face, a bruise that was steadily coloring where Dave had hit me a little too hard (I’d rather not go into detail on the whole ‘knocking the sand castle over’ incident) and Eridan’s arm around my neck as I became his human crutch on our way back up the gang-plank.

“Comfortable?” I teased, a smirk spreading across my lips.

“Oh yes Captor, unbeliev-vably so!” Sarcasm dripping from his voice as I laughed at him. “You’re a moron”

“Right back at ya Ampora” I laughed, finding myself naturally grinning in his presence. He was such an idiot, it was sort of adorable. And at the same time, madly wrong. I found myself with the sudden urge to smack myself in the face but, I ignored it. When we reached deck, he managed to duck-walk himself away to the stairs towards the cells. “Why are you going back down there?” I asked him, a little confused by these actions.

“W-well, it w-was actually kinda comfortable dow-wn here, w-what w-with it being quiet and all. Plus, I don’t w-want to disturb your sleep, so, I’d rather sleep dow-wn here. I’d be out of ev-veryone’s w-way that w-way” He spoke like he was a burden, his fins tilting slightly down, as if he felt embarrassed to say it. I smiled slightly.

“I didn’t mind having you last night, honest” I lisped quietly, and felt a rush of pride at the tinge of purple that crossed his cheeks, “But, if you want, we could organize some kind of sleeping in an unlocked cell, they’re not all that bad as you say”

“I’d like that v-very much, thank you” He ginned a small glimmer of light back in his eyes. It was quiet between us for a while, and neither of us really seemed to notice it. I couldn’t get my eyes off of his, glimmering echoes of hope, as if all that had once been had now been destroyed and tarnished, but was starting to come back again. It shone brightly, like nothing I had ever seen before. It was the look in my brother’s eyes when I confirmed our positions on the ship – It was the look in Tavros’s eyes when he successfully survived his first trip out at sea – It was the look in Meenah’s eyes the night we took down her elder and made her our captain. It was a look that belonged to people with broken pasts, that were starting to become whole again. The Piscion effect was taking hold of Eridan, and he didn’t even know it.

“Ahem” We both jolted and turned around to see Roxy staring at us, her flask being steadily rocked back and forth in her hand, “When you’re both done doing whatever? Sol, I need you on top deck with Ara…” She commented, “And you, Eridank or whatever? Take it easy, Jake was talkin’ about your legs, you need to chill for a bit!” She said, batting her other hand in the air. I laughed nervously, feeling myself turn yellow as I quickly nodded to Eridan and began following Roxy up to the top deck.

“No. Way” She said, in a genuine and curious whisper.

“No way what?” I asked quickly, attempting to avoid eye contact with her.

“Well duh! It’s like totally obvious that you like him! Oh my god! You have to tell me everything!” She commented in whisper.

“Alright, alright!” I said, rolling my eyes as I brushed my hand through the back of my hair, “So I sort of like Eridan in a friend way, and maybe in a more than friend way, but the key word is maybe because I hardly even know the dude yet, I don’t even know what he likes or what he does or anything really like important about-“ I caught myself, realising I was rambling a bit “The point is. Maybe. That is your answer. I don’t know about ED. I really don’t. Like sure, he seems nice but I don’t know for sure yet… But if I did, Roxy” I breathed out, “What would I do? There’s no way either of us could even begin to try to make a relationship just now, not with tensions running high between our home-ships!”

“Ya’ll are like Romeo and Juliet” Who and who? “It’s freakin’ adorable! Still, I, like, totally get you and all that. Like, you just don’t know yet, because you literally fuckin’ known him the shortest period of time but, still, you’ll know when your heart’s tellin’ ya Captor. Still, might not be heart, could be that weird clubby symbol you use for whatever that dark romance shit you guys do is called; I still don’t fuckin’ get it”

“Kismesistude?” I asked, hating how my tongue caught in almost every syllable.

“That’s it! That’s the one! Anyway, even if you did both like each other, it’d be pretty difficult to work that out right now, what with tensions running high and all!” I nodded, folding my arms across my chest. A light tap on my shoulder caught my attention. Turning around, I saw Jade with a scroll.

“Message for you Sollux! Not sure who it’s from but I found it with your name on it on the beach”.

“Right, thank you Jade” I nodded once again.

“Kay read the message, then off to work mister!” I smiled to Roxy as she wandered off to some other part of the ship, probably to watch Jake doing his repairing stuff. Downside to the Piscion, usually something needs repairing when we stop off somewhere. I pulled the string off the letter and began to read.

_Dear Sollux,_

_It’s been a long time since we last spoke. The Ancient happens to be pulling into dock around five days from now, why don’t you and Mituna pop by and say hello? We could really use a hand with a few things._

_\- P_

Was it that time already?! Time sure had flown since the last time I had received a message from the Ancient, to the point they didn’t even know of Mituna’s passing. I knew I had to speak to Meenah about this as soon as I physically could so, I pushed past it for now and walked over to where Aradia was. On her hands and knees, Aradia was busy rubbing sudsy water across the planks of the top deck, working specifically on one part in particular.

“Hey, need a hand?” She glanced up and nodded, handing me a brush. That’s when I noticed the purple, “What is this, some kind of sick joke?” I asked her, as I got down to help out.

“Not as far as I can tell, Eridan was bleeding up here earlier because Jake was patching up his wounds” She commented scrubbing the purple out of the floor boards. I began working on the other patches on the floor close by, pushing at it, “You two seem close” I looked up to see the cocky smirk on her face she held when she knew she was right.

“Oh shut up AA” I smirked, flicking a bit of water at her face. She giggled before continuing to work on, a grin on her face.

“But seriously, he likes you, you 100 percent like him, and you can’t deny it. I don’t see why you don’t go for it” She said calmly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I don’t know him AA, I hadn’t spoken a word to him before just around a human week ago! To think about even thinking about going for it is out of the question for me at this point.” She nodded slightly, as if in understanding, “I don’t understand how some people can just barrel into a relationship without even thinking” I murmured.

“We did, and look where we are now” She commented, a laugh on her lips.

“Yeah, but that’s pale, you can always sort of tell with pale-mates AA” I commented as she smiled and laughed again.

“You know, if you do ever need to talk about it, my ears are always open”

“I don’t think you can shut an ear”

“Oh shut up Sollux” She echoed me, rolling her eyes as I laughed at her. We worked in silence for a short while after that, just listening to the many conversations going on downstairs when Feferi’s laugh came ringing to us.

“What’s got FF laughing?” I asked Aradia, who had a better overall view of what was going on downstairs.

“She’s speaking to Eridan by the looks of things. I’m glad to see they’re getting along, unlike their ancestors” she commented through gritted teeth as I laughed at her statement, “Well I’m not wrong! We wouldn’t be in this mess if they could just get along for a while!” Ducking my head in acknowledgement, I then had one of, what I like to refer to as ‘my moments’. In my attempts to move backwards a bit and get a better angle, my knee moved a little too quickly on the wet wood and I slid, knocking the bucket onto Aradia in the process, a splash from it soaking her shirt. She gasped, glancing up at me.

“Oops?” I laughed. It was on. Grabbing her brush, she began flecking sudsy water at my face, as I tried to defend myself. I proceeded to splash more water from the bucket at her and shout the signal, picking up the bucket in my hands.

“NO! SOLLUX CAPTOR IF YOU DARE!” Aradia shouted at me in warning as all heads began to turn.

“WATER FIGHT!” I yelled, tipping the bucket of freezing water onto Aradia’s head, a squeal escaping her as she ran down the stairs to retrieve another to carry on the war that was now waging between everyone. From the bird’s eye, Tavros appeared to have buckets prepared and began an assault of small freezing water missiles on the people below him. Rufioh was dishing out water to people directly from the ocean. The salt didn’t affect any of our skins after all. But my target was in sight. Looking scared out of his wits and backing up the other stairway onto the top-deck, I grabbed a bucket of water and dunked it onto Eridan’s head. His scream was higher pitched than Aradia’s and he stared round at me with bewilderment in his eyes. I laughed at him, as he moved his hair back up his head a little bit before pushing me down into the midst of the fight. In that moment, I received a water bucket to the face, one of Tavros’s torpedos to the back and someone struck me with something directly in the horn, which luckily didn’t snap. I was yelling while all of this was happening and Eridan was giggling at his dirty work like a mad-man.

“That’s right, feel the w-wrath Captor!” He grinned, as he grabbed a bucket from Rufioh and threw it at me, hitting Feferi in the fire as well, who was already soaked. She began laughing once again, taking fist-fulls of watered down sand and throwing it across the deck, aiming directly at Equius, who had just finished off Roxy by using a triple bucket technique he refused to speak about with anyone – always a flusher at traditional uses for the bucket.

Mere moments following this, I ended up collapsing on top of Eridan, a giggling mess. He grinned at me and laughed quietly along with me. And looking up, I heard Roxy’s words from before ringing in my head.

_You’ll know when your heart’s tellin’ ya Captor_

It was, the deep thumping within my chest told me that much. Hope was piecing together in his eyes, and my heart was drumming a rhythm I hadn’t felt before. He smiled softly, laughing to himself about something he must have thought of.

“Is there something on my face?” I asked, jokingly. He seemed to think about this long and hard.

“No” He whispered, “But you do look pretty ridiculous”

“Touché"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, woah, I'm not dead, look at that. I'm just as surprised as you are to be fair. Anyway... Double update. Merry Christmas!


	30. Eridan: Contemplate

Hope. It’s a word that I’ve never really gotten a chance to understand – being on a ship with an ancestor who hated me and constantly having to feed what I thought hope was to other people? I begged myself for an answer to that but unfortunately, I doubted I’d ever know.

That was, until I met Sollux. He was the definition of all things insane about the world. He would cling on to his crew just as much as his crew clung onto him. Then again, I think that’s what having a family is really like, and those past few weeks aboard the Piscion? I finally knew what that connection truly was. I finally knew who those ties lay for in the Aquarian, and how important it was. And, without this experience? I doubt I would have ever had that. I found it funny, in an odd way, that it was being kidnapped by my ‘opposition’ that led me to a greater understanding of the more positive words that the world had to offer.

Hope, it was a word I could easily tie to people like Rose or Karkat; to late night games and chats with Gamzee. But now, it was a word I could tie to Jake’s stupid jokes, or to Equius and Aradia’s odd friendship. It was a word I could tie to seeing Feferi laugh or to seeing Meenah treat someone decently – with respect. But most of all? It was a word I could tie to Sollux Captor. Maybe that was why Cronus hated him so much – he practically ebbed in the substance, constantly having patience with people, reasoning and a shoulder to cry on; while also having a flaring temper to boot. It was something I could push past. And most of all? I saw hope in his eyes.

As I slipped underneath him, the water battle continuing around us, both of us laughing our heads off, I found myself looking up to him in more than just the literal sense. A smile ebbing to my face, I let myself just be in the moment. That was never something I could do on the Aquarian. And I was staring at him, looking at the natural way he seemed to relax in being a stupid goof-ball. And I was accepting the flush that was inside of me. But there was no way I was saying that.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No, but you do look pretty ridiculous” I came back at him, a wittiness and a hint of sarcasm to my voice I commented.

“Touché” I shoved him in the shoulders while giggling. It didn’t surprise me, I probably did look ridiculous; a soaking wet sea dweller with splints and bandages on my ankles, all while grinning like an idiot.

“Fuck you too, Captor” I joked with him as he did get off of me, and helped me lean up. And we just sort of stayed there. I was just sat on the deck, Sollux sitting down beside me, as we took in the rest of the crew dousing each other in water.

“Are you worried?” He asked me quietly. I got slightly confused as I suddenly turned to him, the pity I could feel from him confusing me slightly. How the hell did he know?

“Yeah” I quietly said. “I just keep thinkin about how-w much I’m gonna miss you an’ everyone else. I feel like you’ve made me part a’ the family now-w. A huge part of me doesn’t w-want to go back to the Aquarian. But I know-w Cronus. He’ll stop at nothin’ to get me back”

“Eridan” I glanced up at Sollux, he was smiling softly at me, before he brushed a hand through my hair, a soft smile very obvious on his face. I hummed softly, “You don’t have to worry about that” I blinked my eyes open at that. “Should there come a day that the Aquarian tries to take you back, they’ll probably succeed if there as cunning as you imply. But, if you go back and work for them? No one will blame you here. This has been hard for you, we all know that, having to pick a side? It must be the toughest thing anyone can go through. But do not, do not, do not. Please. Don’t beat yourself up about it. I’d hate to see you get hurt from this” I smiled at him. I noticed the noise levels dying down around us and people beginning to get back to work and things, brushing past us like we weren’t even there. Maybe the vibe of what was going on was just obvious enough that we shouldn’t be disturbed.

“I think I’d probably kill myself if I hurt a single hair on any a’ their heads though” I laughed, half-joking, and half-not.

“I know you would” My eyes re-met his, and the care giving vibe I felt was so powerful, “That’s why none of us would ever hold it against you. Because, no matter where you are Eridan? Your soul is Piscion based, I don’t care what anyone else says. We know you now, all of us do. You wouldn’t hurt a fly unless you absolutely had to” I laughed softly. The sentiment was true, however; I preferred not hurting people without reason.

And that night, I decided to sleep back down in the prison cell, now that I could actually walk myself. Sollux helped me down, Feferi following after us, laughter on her lips as always. She came and sat in the cell with me and Sollux for a while. The conversation was filled with laughter and joy – nothing new about that though, considering its what we did most of the time on the ship.

“So” Feferi said, and you could basically tell that things were about to get serious from here, “Do you have that feeling too? The feeling that, everything is going to change now?” Her voice was broken up with small nervous laughs. But, unfortunately, I knew exactly what she was talking about. Yes. I felt it too. I nodded, as did Sollux.

“W-Well, Fef, it’s nothin to w-worry about, I don’t think” Her eyebrows furrowed as Sollux looked around at me too, as I began to speak. “A good friend a’ mine once said that life is just like that sometimes. You'll be doing one thing then somethin’ else hits you just like that and you roll with it.” She laughed quietly, “Besides, in the past w-while I’v-ve become, like, the king of change. Ev-verythin’ I knew-w about the w-world has been throw-wn out the fuckin’ w-window-w. But that’s okay. Because, even when you’re afraid of it, change doesn’t alw-ways hav-ve to be scary, because sometimes it’s a good change, like, it’s a REALLY good change” I laughed quietly down at myself, knowing that I was implying two very different things to two different people. But hearing the quiet laughs from both of them, I don’t think they caugh on to each other’s pieces, and relief swung over me. “So, yeah, I think things are gonna change a lot sooner than w-we think but… I don’t think it’s somethin’ we need to fight, or be afraid of”

Feeling consoled, Feferi left, giving me and Sollux individual hugs before walking out. Sollux looked across at me.

“Sol, I’v-ve got a feelin’ about tonight” I told him honestly, looking across at him as he came and shuffled closer to me.

“Yeah? Like what?” He asked in retaliation.

“I don’t think I’m gonna be here in the mornin’.” I told him honestly “And it w-won’t be of my own v-volition. I need you to let the others know-w how-w much I care about them, if I’m not. I doubt I’ll ev-ven be allow-wed on main deck if they do come for me tonight” I laughed quietly.

Soft. That was how I would describe the feeling of Sollux’s lips on my skin. Really soft. A soft peck directly to me temple, and my face, it was heating up so quickly.

“Don’t worry, they’ll know” I could practically feel the tremors in his voice, the sadness that he was holding back. I buried my head into his chest, “If you go tonight… I need you to know that I’m going to miss you; so, so much” Looking up at him, I noticed that he had indeed started crying, just like I was going to in a mere few moments. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I nuzzled back against him.

“Me too Sol” I said, my chest shaking as I held the sobs back as hard as I possibly could, “I’ll miss you so much”

I don’t know how long we were there. I didn’t go any further than that. But there was something that was so damn comforting about letting it all out around him. I hated myself for feeling what I did. That presence. The truth.

I don’t know when I passed out.

I don’t know what time Sollux left.

But when I woke up? I was not in the Piscion anymore.

I was in a different cell, and I was very disorientated. Then there was the voice.

“Hey” I jumped out of my skin and looked across. My first thought was not where am I, because I knew the second I lay my eyes on him. My first thought was what came out of my mouth.

“W-what hav-ve they done to you?”

Gamzee was make-up-less. Bruises that were the size of human soft-balls were in three different places on his face; a black eye over his right eye making the look almost complete, but there was something that would have been missing? Oh wait! No there wasn’t. A purple scar that ran directly from his eyebrow to the bottom of his face adorned his left side.

“All up an’ gave me a battering brother. Shit came to be after I started all up and speakin’ to that little Piscion motherfucker Tavros” Oh god no, they found out, “Long story short, Cronus wasn’t all up and happy with me. I got punished. He went out to get you last night, came back within a couple of hours. Think he wants to talk to you ‘bout somethin’ – seemed pissed”

“Fucking dammit” I knew it. Of course he heard the conversation me and Sollux had. I felt the tightening in my chest. I would start crying if I wasn’t careful. “Looks like I’ll be joining you in the look Gam” I told him.

“The fuck have you done like?”

“Probably gotten a little too close to the first-mate of the Piscion in Cronus’s books” I laughed quietly, before doing a double take, “GET LATULA FOR ME GAM! PLEASE!” I panicked suddenly. I still hadn’t said a word about it. He nodded, bolting from his seat and down the corridor. I let my breathing settle and, by the time it did, two pairs of feet were coming up the corridor. Gamzee appeared and Latula followed shortly after, her soft smile on her face as usual.

“I heard you needed to speak to me?” She asked quietly.

“Sorry Gam, can you giv-ve us a minute?” He nodded and walked away. I trusted him to know that he was no longer within hearing distance of us. “I… I’v-ve needed to talk to you about this for a w-while, there w-was nev-ver a good time” Grabbing a stool, she sat down, looking at me in confusion. “I’v-ve been in contact with Sollux Captor, Mituna’s dancestor” Her face dropped in shock at the name. She seemed, almost afraid of what I would say next. “He nev-ver betrayed you. He didn’t w-want to leav-ve. Lats…” Looking down, I stared at the ground, “I’m so sorry, he’s…”

“Dead?” She asked, placing a hand up to her mouth, as if it would stop the tears that were starting to leak out. “I suspected. But I… Never wanted to admit…” Gritting her teeth, the tears began to slip down here cheeks”

“Sol tried to sav-ve him. It still tears him up inside ev-ven after how long its been”

“He told you?” She asked, shaking voice really adding to the pain in my chest. I nodded in response. “It must be the truth then, Mituna trusted his descendant like no one else I know”

“I’m so sorry” I told her. She smiled sadly, nodding in response. Her tears were still present. She loved him dearly, through and through, always. I knew that much, and I doubted that would ever change.

“We’re coming into dock soon. I was told to let you out when you were awake” She smiled softly, unlocking the door to the cell. I nodded, not moving out from where I was. I knew what she was doing. She was holding back from letting out fully so she would have full privacy and not be interrupted or insulted for being upset. And I felt sorry for her. Latula left quietly, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. On shaky legs, I stood up, a wash of dismay running over me.

Walking from the cell, I found that my legs were still shaking. I grasped onto the wall with determination in my mind, hoping and praying that I wouldn’t fall out of this. I didn’t want to hear a word from anybody – I wanted to hide away and never speak a word to anyone again.

Hope. It’s a word that I can so easily associate with the Piscion. It a word I struggle to connect with the reaction I may get from everyone outside.

Unstable on my feet I struggled my way down the steps, surprised by the lack of people on deck. That’s when Nepeta came up from below deck and scanned the way things looked before locking eyes with me and screaming with delight. Apparently my arrival had been a rather hushed up thing.

“GUYS!! ERIDAN’S BACK!!” She screamed downstairs. There was plenty of gasping and lots of movement as I struggled my way down and Nepeta began looking me over. “Eridan, that looks painful! You shouldn’t be walking!” She told me, forcefully sitting me down on one of the steps as the rest of the crew began to flood upstairs, looks of pity and happiness adorning their faces.

“It’s alright actually, the splints they made me are really helping out with the pain” I commented, looking back down at Jake’s handiwork. I looked back up at everyone who had surrounded me, Rose coming to sit by my side.

“Well we’re glad to have you back. It’s been awful and quiet without you around” She commented softly. I smiled at her in return, noting the presence of ship to my left, just on the horizon. A sadness passed over the group.

“They’re due to arrive the same day as us” I heard a voice speak softly, much softer than I was used to hearing it. Glancing up at Karkat, I found a certain reluctancy in his eyes that I had never seen before. I understood why, Karkat didn’t do well in large groups like this.

Quietly, everyone began to speak once again, discussing what would happen soon enough in the days to come. I prayed for a quick arrival – I didn’t even want to say a word. Just a wave, a note of goodbye.

 

**Sollux : Give Meenah and everyone the news.**

 

I woke in the morning with a cocktail in my stomach. A cocktail of self-hatred, anger and hardcore flush. Pushing myself out of bed, I walked downstairs to the cell. Sure enough, just as he had predicted… No Eridan. Grasping onto the bars, I felt that self-hatred grow, the tears leaking down my face, proof enough of that. Pushing away from the cell, I walked up to Meenah’s office. Knocking on the door, I was surprised to hear her wide awake inside. I pushed the door in.

“Ah! Captor! What can I do for you?” She asked, a grin on her face.

“Eridan’s gone”

And then that smile fled. She looked flabbergasted, completely out of her depth and like… Like she hated herself.

“Dammit… I liked him” She commented quietly, as I laughed softly under my breath. I pulled the note I had received the day prior from my pocket and placed it on the table infront of her.

“Yeah, me too”.

She read in silence before nodding.

“Fair enough, you best be comin’ back to me though Captor, I expect you back within a sweep or two, a’right?” She smiled softly at her, the news of Eridan’s disappearance obviously taking a harder emotional blow on her than I thought it would. I nodded. “And, tell the rest of the crew about Ampora, yeah? Think they all ought’a know” Again, I nodded, excusing myself from her office I wandered out onto the deck again. I couldn’t help but note the natural dull tone to everything around me. Like something had been sucked out of my life. Maybe it was because of just that. I pulled on a cord and a bell rang. Sitting on the deck, I awaited response, and when people began to slowly pull themselves from their sleeping states onto deck, I sat down on the set of stairs available.

“Hello” I said softly when everyone had arrived, “You’re all probably wondering why I woke you up just now” Looks were exchanged, some questioning, others already predicted what was coming. “I think that we’ll all be sad to hear that, last night, Eridan Ampora was taken from our ranks” Gasps and people looking for him in the crowd really made it far to real for me. It was difficult to believe. “Last night” I continued, and all attention came back to me, “He told me something very important. He said that he knew that someone was probably going to come for him. He told me that he was no longer going to be with us but that it would not be his choice to leave. But, more importantly, he expressed to me that the most important thing, if his gut intuition came to pass, was that I tell you all how important you all are to him”. Soft looks of dismay, of sadness passed over their faces when they realized that this was not up to him, that there had been no betrayal here. “But just before it, he commented something to Feferi and me that I didn’t quite understand until this morning.”

_Ev-verythin’ I knew-w about the w-world has been throw-wn out the fuckin’ w-window-w. But that’s okay. Because, even when you’re afraid of it, change doesn’t alw-ways hav-ve to be scary, because sometimes it’s a good change._

“I’m terrified of change” I told them all honestly, and through teary eyes, they watched me as I lifted my hand up to my mouth, “But he wasn’t. He accepted every challenge that life had thrown at him. And he was so accepting of everything around him. He’s convinced me to do something I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing before” Taking a deep breath, I spoke once again, “This is the last voyage on the Piscion I’ll take in a long time”

Silence. They wanted answers, I know they did, so I kept talking and gave them.

“A good friend of mine needs my help. I’ve never been anywhere near his ship but I know what his crew is like. Hardcore, they never give in. And I am terrified. This is a life or death task that they’re asking of me. But I promise, if the mission finishes, and I am somehow still alive, I will return to you. I may be a little bit hardened, but I swear, I will hardly change. I just don’t want you to forget about me”

Movement was heard from the crew as Feferi pushed her way through, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. She was crying, really fucking hard. I returned it.

“Yeah, I’ll miss you too… Tonnes. All of you” I spoke aloud what I could feel in the silence. That silence soon became a massive group hug. It seemed a morning of mourning – a massive group of us with so many things we wanted to say and no way to say them. I took the time I knew we had to be boarding into the port to begin to gather my things. I didn’t have much that I wouldn’t be leaving, just a small satchel of the money I had and the necklace around my neck. Staring out that porthole in my room, I noted that the weather wasn’t fully clear, grey and white clouds dotting the sky in perfect patterns.

It didn’t take long for the unpacking of the ship to begin, and I was spaced out. Staring down at the ground, I could hear him in my ears all over again.

_“I feel so aw-wkw-ward around people w-who are my friends, and I don’t know-w w-why… Then I realize that my genetics made me this w-way and I suddenly remember… I w-will nev-ver be normal…”_

_“I’ve been through so much worse; and by now I’ve learned that things always get better”_

_“Gog, Sol, hav-ve I ev-ver told you how-w insufferably cute you are sometimes?”_

_“W-was ev-ven better to see you get a sand-ball to the face”_

_“I’ll miss you so much”_

“I’ll miss you too E.D.” I murmured aloud, realizing that I was subconsciously touching my chest, the exact spot directly over my blood-pushed that he had buried his head into, sobbing, the night previous. Sighing, I walked over towards my door, shutting it for the last time. Feferi and Aradia were standing at the bottom of the stairs from my cabin, waiting for me.

“Guess we’re going to need a new first-mate huh?” Aradia commented, trying to put a cheery tone on a sadness that she was obviously feeling.

“Yeah, I guess you will” I smiled, hugging her before turning to hug Feferi too. Walking just in front of them as they watched me, I brushed my hand down the sides of the ship. “I’m gonna miss you too, Piscion” I spoke softly. My breathing wavered a moment before I put on a brave face and began to walk forward. Off the gang plank. And my last voyage came to an end. It was then that I began to hear a familiar tune; a familiar voice, though the two had never been paired together.

“ _Now I thought I heard the Old Man say, Leave her, Johnny, Leave her! One more good heave, an’ then belay, An it’s time for us to leave her.”_ It seemed I was not the only one who had spotted it. Teary eyed members of the Piscion watched as he betrayed his Captain with the song. Our song. Our shanty. I wouldn’t be surprised as to say that his Captain would describe his ears as tainted.

“ _Leave her Johnny, Leave her! Oh leave her Johnny leave her! Oh the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow, And it’s time for us to leave her. Oh, Captain, Now your going to lose your crew, Leave her, Johnny, Leave her. We’ve had enough of this ship, the grub and you, And it’s time for us to leave her.”_

There he was, singing his heart out, his friend Gamzee beaten and battered at his side, laughing at the lyrics he was singing. And yet the impact we’d left on him was clear. It was out song, and it was nothing derogatory to us. It was a eulogy. He glanced down at me before smiling softly, glancing to make sure Cronus wasn’t in sight before giving me a small wave. Feeling myself blush and sadness growing, I waved in return. A genuine goodbye. He didn’t know it, but I did. It would be the last I saw of him in a long time – by the time I returned? It was likely he wouldn’t even remember me. Turning on my heel, I walked up the gang plank, my few belongings on my person, including my last pay as a member of the Piscion.

And in my throat, sat lost hope, for whatever it was that this could have been. For my future. For Eridan Ampora.

 

I loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And just like that, this extravaganza that began exactly two years and two months ago today, Lost Hope is finished. 
> 
> If a sequel is needed then a sequel I shall give, and I would bloody love to do one so, if it's what you guys want, I shall deliver. Thank you so much for your patience, I do not deserve it! 
> 
> All my love  
> Balabim <3


End file.
